Not a Tau'ri
by Spuds13
Summary: Ba'al didn't know a thing about their planet. And for maybe the first time in the history of the universe, it was a bad thing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer, Rating, and all that Jazz: I don't own Stargate. I do this for fun, not profit. This fic is rated T. It has slight language and violence. Spoilers for Abyss. Set in season seven, some time before Heroes. AKA Janet is here.

I've been working on this story for a while, and am only now posting it. I have quite a bit done, and the chapters in this story will be longer than I generally make them, so I won't post as often. There will be a pairing, but not until later chapters and I don't want to give it away now, or the story will be ruined. And you don't want that. Anyways, I'll let you get to reading now. Enjoy the ride!

Not a Tau'ri

Amaris briskly walked down the hall from the arsenal to the embarkation room. She pushed her way past people, her normally polite demeanor abandoned. Amaris got this way when she was on a mission, so people weren't surprised to see her shoving her way once they took stock of her apparel. She was ready to go off-world.

The door slid open automatically, and she entered to see the great ring rotating and the chevrons engaging. It was a comforting sound to Amaris, one she was used to hearing.

The Stargate had only been in use for a year. In that time, they had learned a lot about the universe. But a new threat had been unearthed in recent missions. The Goa'uld were a force to be reckoned with.

A splash of blue caused her to jump. No matter how many times she saw it, the vortex took her by surprise. Her mouth always opened with wonderment at the marvelous event horizon of the wormhole.

A gasp behind her drew her eyes away from the stargate. Commander Allard, a talented warrior, was staring at the blue. This was to be his first trip through the Stargate. And even though he was inexperienced, he was selected to go on this mission because of his heroism in battle. This mission was bound to turn into a shooting match, so they would need him.

Amaris was happy to see that even one who had seen so much in his life could be struck by such a sight. "It's beautiful, is it not?" She had a rich English accent.

"I'm impressed," he managed.

"Are you ready?" _Because if you're not, we're both dead. The whole team is dead._

He gulped then nodded. "I am."

She smiled a painful smile. "Then let's go." She led the way through the gate, followed by her team, with Allard trailing them.

They emerged through the 'gate, and Amaris took a quick look back at the commander. He looked like he was about to be sick. "Commander Allard?" she called to him, and patted his back as he bent over. His breath was labored.

"I'm fine…it's just an odd experience."

She rolled her eyes. Generally, Amaris would have patience for this kind of thing. But this was not an ordinary mission. The Goa'uld were not aware of their little planet, or its people. And the goal was to get intelligence on this alien race before they became aware of them. "Shake it off. You'll have to get used to it."

She started to walk away when she caught the eye of one of her teammates. It was Keane, her brother. He shook his head at her. Keane was more of a warrior than she was, and tended to take such stressful situations better. Amaris was an intellectual. It surprised many people when she got command of a team a year ago. She wasn't experienced in war, or strategy. Who knew what lay through that 'gate?

In that time, though, Amaris had proven herself to others. But she had yet to prove her worth to herself. She freaked out in situations like this, and Keane usually had to calm her.

"Commander," her brother's deep voice sounded. "You need to get your bearings. We'll go slowly, but we can't stay here."

Allard nodded and stood up. Keane, with the help of Lowell, another member of the team, supported him and guided him down the path. Now, Amaris was in front, followed by Keane, Lowell, and Allard. Devon, the last member of the team, took the rear.

They had not been walking for 15 minutes when the sound of marching could be heard in the distance. Shouts in another language could be heard. The team from Aldercy hid themselves in the bushes, peeking through the branches at the group of aliens approaching.

"Kree, Jaffa!" The leader shouted. They stopped marching right in front of the group. They held their breaths, trying to remain concealed. The aliens suddenly re-configured themselves into a tightly packed circle. Soon after, rings fell around them from the sky, and with a flash of light, the aliens were gone. The held in breaths were released at once. They were all shaken, as that patrol had been menacing.

Devon was the first to speak. "Past intel calls those creatures Jaffa. They serve the Goa'uld."

Lowell snorted. "That's just great. I swear, one of those could take down at least three of us."

Keane shook his head. "No, they were all armor. They may be large, but no larger than a human could get."

Amaris wasn't really listening to them. Instead, she was marveling at the technology the Jaffa had possessed. Large staff weapons and that interesting transportation device. Amaris loved looking at new technology…

"I think those rings took the Jaffa up to a ship," Allard said, gesturing towards the sky. "We should try to get up there somehow."

Devon looked at the man. "Are you kidding? That's a sure fire way to get killed." She was a little worried. She was simply an archeologist; she was defiantly not cut out for that kind of combat.

"No, Devon, he's right." Amaris spoke up for the first time. "There must be a Goa'uld ship in orbit. And getting up there is necessary to get intel." She though for a moment, then abandoned her spot behind the bushes. She stood in the spot where the rings were.

"Amaris," Keane said nervously. "What the hell are you doing? They'll see us!"

"Come out here. Maybe if we stand here the rings will activate."

Lowell followed her out. "Worth a try," he said with a shrug. The rest of the team followed after him.

They stood in that spot for 5 minutes. Devon, the most impatient of the team, was the first to complain. "Come on. This isn't working. Try something else."

Lowell yelled back, "Well, what do you propose, genius?"

"Well, it obviously requires something else. Maybe a remote control or something."

"It's a transportation device, not a visual projection screen!"

Allard, Keane, and Amaris covered their ears to drown out the bickering so they could concentrate better. Those two were always down each other's throats.

But covering their ears was not the best plan. They did not hear the pounding of feet as a patrol of Jaffa approached them.

"Kree!" the shout attracted their attention. They heard the powering of weapons, and saw they had been surrounded. "Tau'ri!"

They put their hands up in surrender. Every one of them worried for what was to come.

"What business do you have here, Tau'ri?"

Amaris whispered so all her team could hear. "Don't tell them anything."

The head Jaffa heard. The marking on his forehead was different than the others. It shimmered of gold, and the others were simply black. "Kree!"

He exchanged several words in what must have been their native tongue while the Aldercy team exchanged looks. Finally, they were pushed closer together, and rings fell around them. Amaris grimaced at the irony. _Looks like we're going to the ship after all._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Once aboard the ship, the Jaffa led them through corridors, a maze which seemed to never end. Even if they did manage to break away from their captors, they would be lost.

Soon, they found themselves in a large room with a window looking down on the planet. On the center of the room, a throne with a handsome, dark-haired man in it. The Jaffa hit them all at their knee joints, sending them to the floor. "Kneel before your god!" The Jaffa commanded them.

The man in the seat eyed the group suspiciously. "What brings you here, Tau'ri? You should know by now not to interfere with my affairs."

His voice was deep and distorted, his demeanor menacing. Amaris was very afraid, but would not let it show. "Who are you that we would want to interfere with?"

He snorted. "Impudence. You will pay for this." Then, he directed orders at his servants. "Throw them in the holding cell."

The five of them struggled against it, but the Jaffa were far too strong. They also had no weapons anymore, which gave the aliens a definite advantage.

Amaris looked over at Devon. She looked absolutely terrified. Amaris had about the same amount of experience with this kind of thing, but unlike Devon, she had two brothers, Keane and Harvey, who were both in the military. She was used to talk of war, and as far as she was concerned, experiencing it was no different.

They were abandoned in the cell, and they didn't waste any time.

Allard looked over the group and asked, "What's the plan?"

Devon stared at him, tears forming in her eyes. "What do you mean? It's clear we're going to die here." Amaris reached towards her and engulfed her in a warm embrace.

"Devon, you have to remember that there is always a way out." It was Keane, his green eyes drilling into her. "Commander, I noticed how they activate the ring device. It's on a wristband."

Allard nodded. "So we just have to get our hands on one."

"Sounds great," Amaris supplied. I would like to take a look at them, and if we can get one it would be good for my research."

Lowell cleared his throat. "Sorry to be the voice of negativity, but how in hell are we going to get our hands on one of these guys wristbands?"

The men argued over strategy while Amaris tried to comfort Devon.

"We'll be alright."

"How can you say that? Look around us, Amaris. There is no hope."

Amaris looked like she was in pain. "Have I ever led this team astray?"

The question dangled in the air. It was true, Amaris was a great leader. They had always been safe, and very few injuries had been procured over the past year. But this was their first time in a situation like this.

"Amaris, I trust you." There. It was an answer.

"I promise, as long as I am still around to have anything to say about it, you'll be safe, Devon. You're like a little sister, and it would kill me to lose you."

Devon smiled at her, and the women leaned against the wall, relaxing. The men were still bickering.

Their argument was cut short with the entrance of two Jaffa. Everyone fell silent, and stared at the newcomers with wide, scared eyes.

"Which of you is the leader?"

Amaris jumped up, blocking off the attempts made by her brother. "I am."

"Amaris," Keane hissed at her. "What the hell are you doing?" He had tried to pretend he was in charge. It was clear the Jaffa were there to take the leader away to be tortured, and later killed. That was not the fate he wanted for his little sister. She needed to be in the cell for when an escape plan was ready.

She said nothing in response. The Jaffa eyed her and laughed. "This female? That is quite amusing." No one dared to respond. "My lord Ba'al commands you to him chamber."

They started to escort her to the door, hands on her elbows. But Keane jumped up and attacked them. "Keep your hands off of her!"

Keane, no matter how fair a warrior he was, could not overtake two armed Jaffa. With the sound of energy pulsing, a blue light enveloped him and he collapsed onto the ground, yelling in pain.

"Keane!" Amaris struggled to sit at his side, but was restrained.

"Do not attempt that again," the Jaffa with the gold emblem said to them all, fingering the weapon that fired the blast. Amaris was pushed out of sight. When they had left, Devon ran to Keane's side, checking his pulse. He was fine, if not in a lot of pain.

But their thoughts were not with Keane. They were all thinking about Amaris, and what Ba'al was planning to do with her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Amaris screamed out in pain. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Tears were flowing freely. She didn't care enough to hide her fear anymore. "Please, I'm not…" she was cut off with another poke with the stick, the source of her pain.

"I am no fool! Tell me the code I can use to access the Earth stargate."

"Please," a sob escaped her. "My team and I…we're not from Earth! I am not a Tau'ri!"

Ba'al snorted and walked up to her, grabbing at her long hair and pulling her hair back so she was looking up at him. She cried out once more. "So you keep saying. But you will not tell me which planet you are from, so I do not believe you."

Amaris bit her tongue to keep herself from giving away Aldercy. Her silence only fueled Ba'al's anger.

"As I suspected." He walked away, and Amaris collapsed onto the ground. She lifted her head so she could see what was happening around her. But it took all her strength. Two Jaffa entered carrying a long box. Ba'al smiled when he saw it, and laughed. Opening it, he fingered its contents, which were unknown to Amaris.

"Perhaps I can change your mind about your silence." He pulled out a jar. "You see, your silence serves no one. I will defeat the Tau'ri sooner or later. You are simply delaying the end." Ba'al set the jar down on the small surface next to his throne. "Also, you are being quite irritating. I will kill you no matter what, now. And there was a possibility I was to let you live." He eyed her. "You are quite beautiful. The perfect vessel for my queen."

Amaris didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound fun. "I'm nobody's vessel."

Ba'al laughed. "You remind me of O'Neill. He amused me much in the same way you do." He stopped smiling. "I'm sure you have met him. How is O'Neill? He may have escaped me once, but never again."

"I don't know who O'Neill is, because I am not a Tau'ri."

"Back on that again, are we?" Ba'al opened the jar and pulled a dropper out of his sleeve. "It's a small matter. You will tell me what I want to know eventually."

Amaris felt herself fall to the wall. She was being held against it by an invisible force. Ba'al stood in front of her. "I will use the same methods explored with O'Neill. Perhaps that will jog your memory."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Colonel Jack O'Neill was sitting in his office, playing with his yo-yo when his phone rang. He stared at it for a moment, surprised that someone had actually used this number. Jack was never in his office. He only came to avoid work.

"O'Neill"

"Colonel O'Neill, you are late for the briefing." The familiar Texas accent of General George Hammond came over the phone, and it sounded pissed.

"D'oh! General, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Well hurry son, this is actually an important mission." He hung up.

_Damn, _Jack thought as he set his yo-yo on his desk and sprinted towards the briefing room. He ran into Siler on the way, who actually fell to the ground. "Walk it off, Siler!" he called after him as he continued down the hall. General Hammond may be a patient man, but some days, Jack felt he stretched his CO too thin.

"Sorry General. I didn't get the memo." Jack slid into the chair next to Major Samantha Carter, his 2IC.

"Colonel, the important thing now is for you to pay attention." He looked at O'Neill in his best 'I'm your CO' face. "Major, begin."

"Thank you, sir." The blonde stood up and walked to the front. "Six hours ago, we received a Tok'ra transmission about the locating of a chunk of Ba'al's fleet." She pressed a button on the device in her hand, and an image was projected on the screen. "This is a picture of his main ship in orbit around P3R-525."

"We've been there before." Jack remembered. "There was nothing there."

General Hammond shot him a look. Yeah, that man was not in a good mood. At all.

"Yes sir, which is why this is the perfect spot for Ba'al to make a stronghold. There is nothing of value on this planet, and the other Goa'uld know that. No one would guess to look here. We only got this intel because of a Tok'ra spy."

"Excuse me, Major, but I don't see what we can do with this information."

She hesitated. "General, the Tok'ra have devised a mission plan to blow up the entire fleet by triggering an explosion here." She changed the picture being projected to a blueprint of the ship. Sam pointed at the main engine room. "The naquidah used to power the engines will intensify the blast. And, if we use enough explosive, the shields will fail, and the entire fleet goes up into smoke."

The room paused to think. Jack was the most skeptical. "General, you know I'd be the first for getting rid of Ba'al, but this plan…I just don't have a good feeling about it."

Teal'c, who sat silently across from Jack, raised his eyebrow. Daniel said what the Jaffa was thinking.

"Jack, you just don't want to do this because the Tok'ra proposed it. The plan may be…sketchy, but I'm willing to take the risk."

"Me too." Major Carter looked at him. "Please, Colonel. This plan has a good shot. I've seen the schematics of the ship myself. The shields are faulty, which is why Ba'al is hiding."

"O'Neill, we must at least attempt this."

His entire team against him, Jack threw his hands in the air and gave up. "Fine. I'm not going to like it though."

Hammond nodded. "Ok. You leave at 1500. Dismissed."

Everyone got up from the table and left the room, but Jack remained sitting. He couldn't abandon that feeling he was getting. It was like acid was being poured onto his shoulder.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I can make the pain stop."

Amaris just swallowed.

"You have strong spirit." Ba'al told her, smiling slightly. "But even that will not save you now."

Amaris brought herself to look at him. "My mother told me that spirit is everything."

He laughed a hollow laugh. "If that is true than why do you have nothing?"

"I have my life." He glared at her. Ba'al stalked over to the Jaffa in the corner, took his staff weapon, and pointed it at her.

"Only for as long as I have use for it." The weapon went off.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"O'Neill." Teal'c approached the Colonel. He was sitting on the bench in the locker room, head resting in his hands. "Why are you being so negative about this mission?"

Jack didn't say anything.

"O'Neill, if we are ever to defeat the Goa'uld, we must take risks such as this."

The Colonel sat up. "Damn, Teal'c this is different. This guy tortured me. It was the worst I ever had to endure. And if we get caught…" he looked over at the Jaffa. "I'm not worried about you, but Danny and Sam… I don't want them to go through that."

"O'Neill, Daniel Jackson is stronger than you think. And Major Carter is a formidable warrior."

Jack sighed. "I know Teal'c. But I worry about them."

The burly alien sat down next to him. "As do I. But O'Neill, we must not let that get in the way of us doing our job."

"I guess you're right." Jack slapped his hand onto Teal'c shoulder. "Thanks, buddy."

"You are quite welcome."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Amaris woke to a bright light, and in a state of confusion. _Wasn't I just…_ A figure loomed over her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of what appeared to be a coffin. _It brought me back to life. How fascinating…_ a firm tug brought her to her senses._ Who cares about that? I'm still in grave danger._ Amaris thought about Devon, Lowell, Keane, and Allard. They must be so worried about her…if they were still alive.

She shoved thoughts of their demise to the back of her head. Instead, she pretended they were free. They had escaped, and the only one who would have to go through this hell was her.

She was brought to another holding cell. Trying to get her bearings, she observed every corner of her prison, and then put her attention back to her well being. The devise worked wonders. There was no sign of any wound. The only clue anything had gone wrong was her clothing, now littered with holes.

She even felt fine. Completely refreshed.

Pacing the room, she tried to think of a way out. But it was no use without her team. She was useless without them. A sob escaped her. An overwhelming fear for her friends overtook her. She didn't even care what happened to her body. He could kill her, torture her, as long as they stayed alive.

The thing was, he would never hint to her about her team's well-being. He would torture her regardless.

_Ba'al will have to keep torturing me. Because I will never reveal anything._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

There's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it.

--


	2. Chapter 2

OC List:

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk (you'll understand after this chapter is over). Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Allard looked around him. No one had spoken for hours. "We have to think of a way out of here."

Keane turned from his position at the door, waiting for his sister. "We are not leaving without her."

"Now, I understand your position…"

"No sir!" Lowell spoke up. He had been sitting next to Devon, comforting her. But now he stood up. "I don't think you do. Amaris is our friend. Our leader. And she's not just Keane's sister. She's mine and Devon's as well."

Now Devon stood. "She has always waited for us, and pulled us through. We have to pull through for her." She was crying again. "If we have to think of something, it's how to save her."

Allard raised his eyebrows and, for the first time, looked over the team with a critical eye. Devon was petite, and easily frightened. Lowell was mousy. Keane was rough. And this was the front line unit?

"I hate to pull rank…"

"Then don't." That was Keane, looking at him angrily.

"We are getting out of here. Now. I don't care if it's with or without Amaris." Allard's eyes were cold. "I am clearly the only one with my head straight."

He started walking towards the door, but Keane cut him off and pushed him against the wall. "If you do this, you'll regret it."

Allard looked at him, his black eyes fearless. "The only one who will regret something is you. When we get back to Aldercy, you'll be in so much trouble. Now release me." Keane let him down and Allard continued his trip to the wall. "I'll get you out of here alive. That's all that matters."

The team watched him, eyes full of hate, as he tried to pry open the door.

"Keane, help me." The young man looked at the commander, surprised. He stayed still. Allard narrowed his eyes. "That's an order."

Keane strolled over to the door and with distain, helped the commander open the door to the prison. When they succeeded, Keane closed his eyes. _Amaris, I wanted to help you. I hope you know that._

Allard snuck out the door, gesturing for the team to follow. They did so hesitantly.

"What do we do now?" Devon asked.

Allard gave her a crooked grin. "We wing it."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

SG-1 fired their guns at the approaching Jaffa patrol.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called. "We cannot let one escape! He will alert Ba'al of our presence."

"I know!" He yelled between shots. "So much for stealth!"

The firefight continued for a few minutes. When it finally ended, the patrol was dead on the ground. Unfortunately, the chances of that being all of them were extremely slim. "Carter, find a ring device activator."

"Yes sir." Sam rummaged around a bit, then pulled off the wristband of a dead Jaffa. "I think they're over there. That's were the patrol came from, at least."

Jack nodded grimly and took point. Daniel followed him; then Sam, and Teal'c 'watched their sixes,' a job he took quite seriously.

When they reached the area, they examined the ground, looking for some clue as to where exactly they were. Jack remembered a time when he asked the Tok'ra how they knew where to stand. _Ya'know, they never answered me. And that would come in handy._

"I know! I can use the naquada detector."

Jack whipped his head around to look at Sam. "Then please do, Major."

She made her 'sorry' face and dug it out of her bag, avoiding the explosive devices packed in along with it. "Sam?" she looked up to see Daniel looking at her nervously.

"What?"

He cleared his throat. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Jack gave him a look. "It's C-4. It's always dangerous."

"Yeah, but the naquada detector uses naquada to detect naquada."

"What?"

Sam comforted him. "Daniel, I know it's dangerous. But I was very careful with it."

"Somehow, I'm not reassured…"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Danny?"

"Jack?"

Raising his eyebrows, he told him matter-of-factly "Shut up."

"Right."

Sam smiled at her CO, and worked her magic. "It's here, sir."

"Sweet. Now what are we doing waiting around here?"

They arranged themselves in the area specified by the detector. The rings were activated, and SG-1 made it aboard the ship.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Just end this! Please!"

"If you tell me what I want to know, I will end it. You can die, and the pain will be gone." Ba'al picked up another blade. The first had sunk into Amaris' chest, narrowly missing her lung.

"I won't tell you anything! Why waste your time?"

Ba'al held up another blade. "What is the code I can use to access the Tau'ri stargate?"

Amaris could barely form words with her mouth. The pain was too much. "I am not a Tau'ri." With that, Ba'al released the blade. It missed her, but had shaken her again. She would die again with the next. "Please, you must believe me."

"I'll do no such thing. You are lying to me. How many times must I kill you before you surrender?" She was on her 5th time now. Amaris didn't think she could take any more. But she still didn't say anything. Ba'al only held up another blade. "You don't want me to do this."

"Yeah I do." She tried to sound brave. Begging obviously wasn't working. "Maybe this one will kill me."

Ba'al chuckled. "I will just bring you back. And we can begin again." He paced. "I have not enjoyed torture so much since O'Neill. He taught you resistance."

"I do not know anyone called 'O'Neill,' and I am no Tau'ri. How many times do I have to say it?"

"And how many times must I tell you that I don't believe you?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Lowell, see that Jaffa over there?" Allard pointed at an alien standing guard outside a room."

"Oh, is that what those are called?" Lowell was trying to make this as difficult as possible. The entire team had been dragging their feet, delaying their escape.

Allard ignored him. "You're the smallest man here. I want you to sneak up on him, kill him, and steal the device on his wristband. We need to activate the rings."

Lowell blushed at his comment about his size. So he was a little on the small side…he was just as capable as the commander. Perhaps even more so, since he actually had a soul. Devon put a hand on his shoulder, a silent way of saying "don't listen to him. He's an ass."

"Sure. Anything. After, how 'bout I lick the bottom of your shoes?"

Allard turned to them. "I'm sick of this. You can think I'm a bad guy. Maybe I am. But I do what needs to be done. And I am your commanding officer. So I suggest you cut back on the snide comments, or when we get back, I'll make sure you never see the Stargate again." _If I have anything to say about it, no one will see the Stargate again._

Lowell caved, worried about the future of the program for the first time. _This would hardly be a good first trip. He might have a bad opinion about the whole program._

His team members were thinking the same thing. Commander Allard was a powerful man. He had so much influence on the government of their planet.

Lowell snuck up behind the Jaffa and with surprising speed, grabbed a blade from the Jaffa's boot, and slit his throat. The process was silent. He grabbed the device off the Jaffa's wrist and handed it over to Allard.

"You did well." Allard took off in the direction in which they believed the rings to be. Lowell just stood, looking guiltily over the body.

Devon walked over to him and stroked his arm. Keane looked at the man who was practically his brother with worry.

"Lowell, it was you or him. Don't feel guilty." Keane followed Allard.

Devon kept stroking his arm. "Come on, we have to go."

Lowell looked into her eyes. "Devon…I feel like a monster. That was horrible. It's one thing to kill in self-defense, but I snuck up on him….and murdered him." His voice was cracking slightly. Devon hugged him.

"I can't imagine. But you're no monster. Lowell, you're a human, but you were forced to do something ruthless." She pulled back. "And you have to remind yourself that his alien would do no different to you."

"I guess you're right…" he was still looking over at the dead Jaffa.

"Let's move," Allard hissed at the pair. They moved, reluctantly.

Devon looked at their new, self-appointed leader. _Who is he, really? How can he make my team-mates to this?_

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The second they saw they made it aboard the ship, SG-1 flew to the walls for some cover. Silently, they moved like a well-oiled machine, knowing what each wanted the other to do. Jack took point, followed by Daniel and Carter with Teal'c watching their collective sixes.

This ship was built no different than any other, so they knew where to go. Down the halls, ducking when they saw Jaffa patrols, they slowly but surely made their way to the engine room. Once he was sure the room was secure, Jack told Sam, "Set up the C-4"

With a dutiful nod, Sam pulled the explosives out of her bag. "Daniel, help me with this."

With some hesitation, the archeologist took some packages from her.

"Set them up at the base of that structure over there," Sam ordered and gestured to a column in the center of the room. Daniel complied.

"Jeeze, Spacemonkey." Jack laughed from his post at the door. "You're holding it like it's a ticking bomb." Daniel just threw him an annoyed glance. "Oh yeah…" Jack smiled and turned his attention to the doorway. There was no way he would let anything come through there to jeopardize the mission…

Teal'c also stood with the same determination. "Major Carter, how long do you believe this process will take?"

She looked around the engine room. "This is a pretty big room Teal'c…at least half an hour to be completely sure it will blow up the whole fleet." She walked over to Jack and took his bag off his back. "There's more C-4 in here, right sir?"

"Yeah. Do we need it? It was supposed to be extra."

Carter hesitated. "To be honest sir, the blueprint wasn't as accurate as I would have hoped. We have just enough."

Jack shivered with worry. "Well, Major, be sure to put it in all the right places. This has to work."

"Yes sir." Sam and Daniel went back to work.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They had finally made it to the rings. Finally, after four wrong turns and 20 minutes in hiding from multiple Jaffa patrols.

Allard grinned smugly. "Alright, stand in the circle and let's get out of here."

The three others looked at each other. Having worked in such close quarters for the past year, while they walked to the rings they made silent plans. Screw their future with the program. Amaris needed them.

Keane looked into the hallway. "Commander! Look!" Allard ran to the doorway worriedly.

"What?"

At that moment, Lowell leaned forward and tackled the Commander to the ground. He pressed hard on a pressure point. Soon, Allard passed out and Lowell got off of him. "Where are we going to keep this guy?"

Keane thought for a moment. "Someone needs to stay with him." He looked right to Devon. "If we restrain him you'll be able to keep an eye on him, even if he wakes up, right?"

"I'm going to save Amaris. I'm not staying here with this son of a bitch." The two men looked at her, stunned. Not only did she offer to go into a very dangerous situation, she …_cursed_!

When he had regained his composure, Keane tried to talk some sense into her. "Devon, someone has to stay here."

"Lowell can. Or you. But I'm not. I flat out refuse."

Lowell and Keane looked at each other, debating in their minds. Lowell finally spoke up.

"It's going to be very dangerous."

Devon shook her head. "I don't care. It's no less than Amaris would do for me."

Lowell looked at her and nodded. "Ok, I'll stay here." Keane was stunned. Lowell walked towards Devon and held her against himself tightly. "Just be careful, ok?"

Devon squeezed him back, then they let go. She whispered to him, "I promise."

Lowell nodded and walked back over to the unconscious Allard. He took out a plastic cord from his pocket and tied the commander's hands together. "I'll find a place to hide with him." He straightened and looked into Keane's eyes. "You guys better go."

Keane looked at him like he was nuts. Devon was no good for this job. But then he saw the pleading glance Lowell was sending him. _Let her come, _it seemed to say. _And keep her safe._

"Fine," Keane said. "Come on, Devon. We have to figure out where they took her."

The pair took off, leaving Lowell to wait and wonder if he would ever see his three team-mates again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_10th time, _Amaris thought. _This is the 10th time I'll die._ She didn't even listen to Ba'al anymore. She lost herself in her own thoughts. It was a new form of keeping her planet secret.

_I wonder if this will ever end? _She noticed the pain and cried out, but said nothing else. _It probably won't. I'll spend all of eternity in this endless cycle._

Another scream.

Her mind was lost to darkness. The sarcophagus was altering her too, she could tell. The way she thought had changed. There were no thoughts of hope as there were before. Her mind was convinced Keane was dead, just like her other brother Harvey. They would never be with her again, because if she died, she wouldn't stay dead.

And Devon was dead. She couldn't grace the universe with her childlike curiosity. And Lowell's loving heart didn't love anything anymore. It was cold.

Just like her heart now.

Ba'al knew her mind was failing. She wouldn't be of any use to him soon. But there was still hope in his black heart. So he didn't stop.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Do you hear that?" Colonel O'Neill turned back to his team. Sam and Daniel stopped working and perked their ears up. Teal'c tilted his head expectantly.

Nothing came.

"Sir," Carter asked. "What did it sound like?"

"Like someone was screaming." Jack shivered, remembering the time Ba'al tortured him.

Daniel remembered that too. He hadn't told anyone, but he had regained a few memories from the time he was ascended. He archeologist remembered watching Jack being tortured. It had been horrible.

"Jack, I'm sure it's nothing." _Just your imagination, _he added silently, not wanting to embarrass him.

"No," the Colonel insisted. "There was something."

SG-1 fell silent again, waiting for the noise. And it came. A scream.

"That is a female voice," Teal'c said.

"Colonel, we have to save her." Sam said what the colonel was thinking.

"I know." Jack thought. "We'll need you and Daniel for this too. Are you almost done?"

She connected two wires and said, "Just finished, sir."

The colonel nodded grimly. "Set the timer for an hour and let's try and save her."

She looked at him, confused. "Cutting it awful close, isn't that?"

"Carter, we have to get out of here the moment we grab her. And this has to be done quickly. One hour."

"Yes sir." She set it and she and Daniel picked up their belongings.

Another scream came. The colonel abandoned all caution and ran in the direction of the scream, his team struggling to keep up with him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keane and Devon had been walking in silence. It had been half an hour since they had taken off, and they still hadn't found her. But both refused to even think that they had lost her.

Keane broke the silence. "Why are you doing this?"

Devon looked at him, taken aback. "Why are you?"

Keane rolled his eyes. "She's my sister. But she's only your boss. I know plenty of people who would rejoice in your position."

She stopped in her tracks. "Amaris is so much more than a boss to me, Keane. And it hurts me that you still don't know that." They started walking again. "Do you know what she said to me in the holding cell, before they took her away?"

Keane shook his head, and Devon continued. "She told me she thought of me as a little sister. And that she would die if she ever lost me." Devon paused for a while, trying to keep her composure. "Well, I think of her as an older sister. And it would kill me to lose her."

Keane was quiet for a while, letting it sink in. "Do you want to know why I'm especially driven to save her?"

Devon shook her head, and poked her head into a door they just came across. _Nothing._

"We had another sibling, Amaris and I." Keane backed against the wall, thinking her heard something. _False alarm. _

"What happened," Devon asked softly, almost afraid to know the answer.

"Harvey and I were twins. We were both in the military." They came across the Jaffa Lowell had killed earlier. Keane took a weapon from the holster at the alien's waist. It was the same one that had caused him pain in the cell. _That was 24 hours ago. _He shook the thought and focused on his story again.

"It was much like this. We were taken prisoner, and put in different locations. I was found by the rest of the battalion, but Harvey didn't make it. They found his body after the war was over."

Devon was silent, trying to process this information.

"I can't help but feel," Keane continued. "That he would have lived if I had gone against my commanding officer's decision to leave him. What if I had actually tried to save him?" He paused. "I don't want that to happen to Amaris. And even if, God forbid, we already lost her, at least I tried. That's more than I can say for Harvey."

They went back to silence. What can you say after a story like that?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You are in so much trouble."

"Shut up."

Allard had awoken, and was annoying the crap out of Lowell.

"You can forget about the Stargate. Hell, you can forget about anything to do with the military, because you my friend, are done." Allard spat on the last syllable. It landed on Lowell's cheek.

"At least Amaris will be alive." _I hope. _"Now, don't make me knock you out again." Lowell let his thoughts wander back to Devon. She had really grown up in the past year, but it was nothing compared to the past 24 hours. _Has it really been that long? Damn, this is awful._

Devon was brave. Amaris had really rubbed off on her. Lowell remembered her shrinking in fear when one native tribe of a planet imprisoned them due to a simple misunderstanding. Now she was standing up in the face of danger.

Lowell was proud of her.

"…and then, I will make sure you lose your house. Don't think I'll stop there!" Allard had kept talking.

"You're going to give us away."

"Everything, everyone you love will be taken awa…" Lowell cut him off with a punch. Thankfully, Allard was unconscious again, leaving Lowell to his musings.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Colonel O'Neill approached a door. He looked over at the Jaffa to his right. Teal'c nodded.

"That is indeed where the screaming was coming from, O'Neill," he whispered. Suddenly, another shout came from the room.

"I am not a Tau'ri!"

The eight eyes of SG-1 widened when they realized what was going on. _This woman is being tortured because he thinks she's from Earth!_ The four of them burst into the room, genuine concern melting into guilt.

Ba'al quickly turned his head at the sound of their entry. Jack shot at him with his P-90, but the Goa'uld was already activated his shield.

"O'Neill! It's wonderful to see you again."

Jack lowered his gun and glared at Ba'al with extra-special hate.

"You taught this one well, O'Neill. She has stood up against the same things you had to endure." Almost magically, Jaffa had already surrounded the team. They all looked over at the woman against the wall. Her eyes had a faraway look in them, and they knew she would not last much longer.

"Woman! Your friends are here to save you. But they failed." Ba'al was laughing gleefully.

Amaris spoke up. "I've never seen them before."

Ba'al's amusement was quickly replaced with rage. "You cannot keep up this act anymore! I have caught you. Now tell me the code to open the barrier protecting the Tau'ri Stargate."

Amaris' lips were chapped and her throat dry. She laughed a hacking laugh. SG-1 looked at her, concerned, thinking she had gone off her rocker.

"Just kill me. I can't tell you what you want to know. And don't bother to bring me back."

Jack was impressed with this stranger's strength. She must have been killed at least… 7? 8 times? And here she was. Resilient as ever. Whoever taught that girl to withstand torture did a damn good job.

Ba'al grabbed one of his Jaffa's staff weapons and aimed at the woman's chest. Jack could hear Daniel taking a big breath, and holding it. Sam looked like she was about to cry. Teal'c looked…well, like he always did. But Jack knew he was feeling the worry that all of them were feeling.

But to everyone's surprise, Ba'al lowered the weapon. "I know. If you don't tell me, I will kill them."

He swung the weapon over to point at the Tau'ri warriors.

"I can't tell you, because I'm not Tau'ri!"

"Damn it, Bocce Ball, she's telling the truth. She's not one of us. She's not why we're here." Jack tried to stop Ba'al from shooting them, but in his heart her felt that it didn't matter. The ship was about to explode anyway.

"Then why are you here?"

Jack fell silent.

Ba'al took this as a sign that Amaris was really Tau'ri. "As I suspected."

The weapon charged, and it was pointed at Sam's chest. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see his 2IC's demise.

But the sound of the weapon going off never came. Instead, he only heard the thunk of a body, the sound of fists hitting flesh, and the sound of a zat going off. Only when the din subsided did he dare to open his eyes.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for the great reviews! Disclaimer, etc. still apply. _

OC List:

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk. Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keane was full of rage.

So full of rage, Devon could feel it making its way into her veins as well.

Amaris was being tortured for information that she simply didn't have. And three people with what must be a friendly Jaffa who tried to save her were about to be killed.

That was when Keane ran up behind that "Ba'al" character and slit his throat. Devon took Keane's zat and took care of the Jaffa restraining the Tau'ri. And the Tau'ri warriors caught on fast. They attacked the Jaffa behind them. Soon the room was secure.

Devon and Keane ran over to Amaris.

"Amaris!" Keane yelled and patted her face. Amaris was alive, but her face vacant. He turned to Devon, who looked pail and worried. "We need to get her down, and out of here as soon as possible."

Devon nodded and looked around the room for a way to get Amaris down. How she was stuck there, Devon didn't understand. But one of the Tau'ri knew.

The grey-haired man who appeared to be the leader said to her, "Pull the lever by his chair." Devon did, and Amaris came sliding to the ground. Keane caught her.

"Amaris," he said, very upset.

"Harvey?" she smiled. "I knew he would kill me one last time so we could be together, my brother."

"No." Keane shook his head, heart heavy. "No, Amaris. You're not dead. It's Keane."

"Keane?" she shook her head. "You look just like Harvey. I miss Harvey. I want to visit him. You can come with us later, Keane." She smiled now. "The three of us can be together, us siblings. But you have to finish your life first."

Keane cried silently now. "You have your life too, Amaris. I'm not ready for you to be gone yet."

Devon walked over. "I'm not ready yet, either."

"Oh, Devon!" She smiled up at her. "You're so cute…and you were very brave just now. You don't need me anymore."

She started crying. "But I want you here with me!"

Jack walked over to them, sorry to break this up. "I don't want to interrupt, but we have explosives set to explode in…" he looked over to Sam for help.

"30 minutes, sir."

"…30 minutes. You can come to our planet, and we can take care of her."

Keane looked at the stranger who had tried to help his sister. "Ok," he said softly. Gathering Amaris in his arms, he led them out of the room. "Ring room is this way."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lowell looked down at the watch on his wrist. _How much longer do we have to wait here?_

Allard had woken up again, but he was quiet. Lowell might have been small, Allard discovered, but he was strong. And Lowell wasn't exactly hot on him right now. The kind of anger towards the commander was approaching murder level.

Another Jaffa patrol passed the pair, this one running and yelling. They were headed in the direction Devon and Keane had gone in. Lowell stood from his crouched position, looking after them, wondering if his friends had been discovered.

"They're probably dead." Allard couldn't help but piss Lowell off a little more. It was in his blood.

"You know, I knew you shutting up was too good to be true." Lowell crouched down again. He wouldn't let Allard see, but his words concerned him. Many other patrols had gone in that direction, but none had been as driven on accomplishing something as the one that just past. Maybe they were in trouble. _Should I go after them?_ He closed his eyes with worry. _I wish they hadn't taken away our radios._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Daniel kept a close eye on their guests. From the conversation in the main chamber, the woman who had been tortured was named Amaris. Her brother was the tall man carrying her, Keane. The third member of that group was a small, wiry woman named Devon. They each spoke with a British accent, suggesting they came from England originally.

This was a curious situation, one they weren't exactly used to. Kelona had only begun to explore the use of the gate, and they had only come across a few civilizations with a running Stargate program. They had all been wiped out.

But this civilization seemed to have slipped under the Goa'uld radar. Ba'al hadn't known about their program, which was actually unlucky for them.

Amaris was asleep and muttering to herself. Keane looked at her, eyes full of concern. "Devon," he said.

"Yeah?" She quickened her pace and moved from behind him to next to him.

"We have a big mess to face back at home." They had only then started to worry about the future.

"Yeah. We do." She twisted her expression, looking sick.

"What's wrong back at home?" Daniel asked them, curious as always.

Devon explained. "This was supposed to be a simple inteligence gathering mission. We only became aware of the Goa'uld a month ago. Since then, we have discovered that they are defiantly a threat." The group turned and started down another corridor. "Keane, Amaris, Lowell and I are the front line unit on our planet."

"Who's Lowell?" Sam had chimed in, showing an interest in this story.

"He's another member of the team. Right now he's waiting in the ring rooms." Suddenly they heard the footfall of a group of Jaffa.

"We must conceal ourselves," Teal' said.

Everyone nodded vehemently and went into a nearby niche. Holding their collective breaths, it was silent except for the sound of footsteps and Amaris's mumblings. Keane held his callused hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

Jack tightened his grip on his recovered gun, just in case it wasn't enough. Thankfully, the patrol was too concerned with saving Ba'al.

"Don't they know I killed the one they serve? They can't do anything about it."

Jack shook his head. "They have a device that brings a being back from the dead. And I bet they're going to use it."

Keane scowled. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have destroyed the damn thing…"

Sam shook her head and cut him off. "In the end, it won't matter. The ship is going to explode, and the end of Ba'al has come."

"Thank God for that." Devon shivered and touched Amaris's forehead. "She's burning up."

Jack nodded. "It's clear now. Let's go."

The seven of them made their way down the hall in silence, until Daniel's curiosity overtook him once more. "…not to pry, but you were telling a story."

Keane sighed. "Devon, will you tell it?" The young man was simply weary.

She nodded. "Well, on this mission we took along Commander Allard, a brave warrior with an excellent reputation." Keane scoffed, but Devon ignored him and continued her story. "In the end, it didn't help us any. We were captured, Amaris tortured. We wanted to rescue her, but Allard won't let us. So once we escaped, we went to the ring room, Lowell knocked Allard out, and Keane and I went to save Amaris.

"Well, what's the problem?" Daniel didn't see an issue in the tale…

"Danny, you've been working with the military for…what? 8 years? You should know assaulting a superior officer is a big no-no." Jack understood right away. "You guys had good cause for it, though. It was brave of you."

Devon smiled, and Keane just kept walking.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lowell heard voices in the hall. _Could it be Devon and Keane?_ He started to walk towards the door of the ring room when Allard unexpectedly stuck is foot in front of the younger man, tripping him.

Allard jumped on top of the fallen man and took a knife that Lowell had stolen from a fallen Jaffa that the man had kept at his waist. Allard cut the cords that bound his hands and feet, all the while pinning Lowell down.

"Damn you! Get off!" Lowell was shouting.

"You assaulted me, infidel!" Allard was pissed. He was pressing the knife to the back of Lowell's neck when SG-1 and the other members of the Aldercy team came through the door.

"Lowell," Devon cried and ran towards the two men. Allard saw the manpower Keane and Devon had found and let the coward out. He ran to the wall, frantic. He pressed a series of buttons, just as he had observed the Jaffa do when they activated the rings when he and Lowell were in hiding.

Allard stood in the center of the ring pattern on the floor and spoke to the stunned group at the opening. "If you ever return to Aldercy," he managed, licking his lips, "I'll make sure you are punished to the fullest extent." With a flash of light, he was gone.

Keane started off towards the wall when Lowell cried, "Let him go! It won't matter in the long run. We'll still be in trouble." His face and tone were sour.

Keane surrendered and went to Lowell's side, along with Devon.

"Are you alright," Devon asked him sweetly.

"Fine." Lowell sat up. "Except that son of a bitch got me when I let my guard down. I feel so stupid."

Keane shook his head. "You did good."

Lowell shook his head, still very disappointed with himself. But he brightened when he saw Amaris. "She's ok!"

"…I wouldn't go as far to say that she's ok." Devon helped Lowell to his feet. "Amaris is alive. That's just about all she has going for her."

He looked over at the team leader and saw for the first time how awful she looked. "What happened to her," he asked in a whisper.

Jack cleared his throat and for the first time Lowell saw that his team-mates were not alone. The grey-haired man looked at him and sympathetically told him, "You'll have to find out later. This ship is going to explode and we don't want to witness that from here."

Everyone was in agreement, so Samantha activated the rings and ran to join the others in the circle. Soon, the people of Aldercy and Earth were on the ground, running towards the Stargate.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Allard glanced behind him. He could see Jaffa headed in his direction from the path. _Damn. _He turned back to the dialing device in front of him and punched in the last symbols to activate the 'gate. It was the first thing he was taught when he was recruited for the program, and the fact that he could dial speedily was fortunate indeed.

Now in front of the gate's event horizon, he turned back again to check on the hostile's progress. The patrol of Jaffa was at the dialing device. _They move quickly._ But without any more thought, Allard hopped through the gate and the wormhole disengaged.

But SG-1 and the rest of the Aldercians saw. And every member of SG-1 knew that Amaris's suffering had been in vain. Allard's lack of prudence gave away the address of Aldercy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Getting to the Stargate will be no easy task, O'Neill"

Jack looked over the large Jaffa next to him. "Yeah, I know." His brain was swimming, trying to find the perfect strategy.

Daniel spoke up, pressing his glasses to his face. "We can tell them that we rigged the fleet to explode."

"Daniel, what would we accomplish from that? It was our mission. We can't abandon it entirely." Sam tried reasoning with the archeologist.

"It makes sense. We can use it as a bargaining chip for use of the gate."

Keane, Devon, and Lowell watched the argument following, the burly Jaffa taking sides with Daniel and the Major was backed by the Colonel.

"Damn it, Daniel! We'll be killed, and Ba'al won't even be taken care of."

"Face it, Jack! You're biased!"

He scoffed. "How so?"

"I saw what he did to you!"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "You remember that?"

Daniel exhaled slowly. "Yes. Only recently. But that's not important, Jack. You've been through everything Amaris has. You have every reason to want to kill Ba'al."

"Damn right I do!" Daniel silenced him with a hand.

"But is that more important then giving Amaris the same chance for survival you had?"

Jack simply stared angrily. "Daniel, that is the stupidest thing you've ever said. Once the ship explodes," he gestured into the sky, "They'll go running and the 'gate will be open. Plus," he added with more confidence, "Since when are enemy Jaffa willing to bargain with us?"

The question hung in the air, leaving a silence that was stifling. It was only broken by Amaris, still unconscious, yelling, "I won't tell you anything!" Devon stroked the woman's forehead, crying slightly from sympathy.

Keane cleared his throat and for the first time, added something to the conversation. "Maybe it's just because I'm her brother, but I don't want to wait for the ship to explode to get her help."

"See!" Daniel exclaimed, pointing at the team from Aldercy. "They're human too, and we can't abandon that just to kill Ba'al. That makes us like him."

Jack hung his head, about to admit defeat. It was painful to see Amaris suffering like that. He understood what she was going through, and it seemed he was better off than her. He was a seasoned soldier. Amaris was a simple scientist.

"Well, it's not that long to wait." Everyone turned their attention to Sam. "The ship will explode in 5 minutes."

Jack looked at Keane, who appeared to be the self-appointed new leader of the team. A movement which was accepted. "I'm willing to try and fight our way out if you still don't want to wait."

Keane pondered this, but Lowell was quick to offer his opinion. "Keane, I think we should wait." Devon and Keane shot him dirty looks. "What," he asked, indignant.

"How can you say that?" Devon cried. "We need to get Amaris out of here right away!"

Lowell shook his head. "Am I the only one here who knows that Amaris would want us to kill him now, so he can't hurt anyone else? If she were here…in the capacity that she was thinking clearly…she wouldn't want anyone else to suffer. She's like that, you know."

Devon thought about it for a moment, and agreed. "She always was putting others before herself." Lowell and Devon smiled reminiscently. But Keane wasn't willing to let go.

"I _need _to save her."

"Keane," Devon spoke to him, "Is this about Harvey?"

He looked at her reproachfully. "No."

"Yes it is." That was Lowell. "I know it's always bothered you…you feel guilty."

"I do not."

SG-1 was completely lost, and Amaris was too delusional to care.

"Yes you do." Lowell looked him square in the eye. Keane stepped up to him, and it was slightly comical. Lowell was small and mousy, but agile. Keane was tall and a little clumsy, but he was strong. It looked like Keane could easily squash Lowell like a bug. And he was angry enough to.

"Um…" Daniel started to cut in, nervously. "There's no need to fight…"

"Guys!" They had started making moves to fight one another when Devon stepped purposefully between them. "It doesn't really matter! It's going to explode soon, anyways." She provided calm insight to the pair often, as Amaris was easily distracted by something new and scientifically exciting.

"Yes, there is now no purpose in waiting, as your arguing has delayed our departure," Teal'c told them calmly with a raised eyebrow.

The two men fell away from each other.

"I'm sorry about…what I said about Harvey." Lowell lowered his eyes as he spoke. "I know you don't like to talk about it."

Keane just shrugged and kept looking at his sister. "Whatever."

Lowell then became angry again. "Have you forgotten that I was there too? I didn't try to save him, either. The three of you, Harvey, Amaris and yourself were like family to me. And I let you guys down. I feel guilty about it too. That's the only reason I know what you're feeling."

"Lowell," he said calmly. "Just drop it, ok? I forgive you."

Devon looked upset, but SG-1 had slowly gotten more confused as the conversation went on. Jack hid it quickly, however, by jumping into the mission.

"Carter? How much longer?"

She checked the bulky watch on her wrist. "30 seconds."

He nodded his understanding, and the group fell silent, faces turned upwards to see the ship be torn apart.

But after 30 seconds, nothing happened. The Jaffa did not move from their position, and there was no fireball in the sky. Jack looked over to Sam, worried, eyes seeking the solution. She shrugged and checked her watch again. A minute. Nothing.

"I'm positive we set the charges correctly." Sam looked flustered, as if she had failed in the worst possible way.

"Naw, it's not your fault, Carter. He probably found them and disarmed them."

"Still...we can't go up and check to see what went wrong…" she trailed off and looked at the ground. She was thinking about how that not only would have killed Ba'al, it would have cleared the gate for them to get Amaris through. Now, it was dangerous. And not only that, it was the Tau'ri's fault for so much of her suffering. And now, they couldn't make it right.

"Well, now what are we going to do to get her out of here," Devon asked, trying to keep her composure.

"We'll have to shoot our way out." Jack chewed his lip, a newfound nervous habit. "Give them your guns, Daniel. You're going to help Miss Devon here carry Amaris to the gate."

The archeologist complied, giving his firearms to Lowell and Keane, one each. They took them almost eagerly. Lowell laughed and told Keane, "Just like the old days, huh?"

Keane grimaced. "Easy for you to say. You got the big one."

"Ready to go everyone?" Jack tried to call without raising his voice too much so to alert the Jaffa to their presence. His eyes were still on the Jaffa, and he panicked when he saw one leave his spot and walk towards them. All armed men (and woman, in Sam's case) grasped their gun a little tighter. They were put to ease, though, when the Jaffa turned at the last moment away from their spot and took the rings back up to the ship.

"He has most likely gone to report the gate address used by Commander Allard to Ba'al," Teal'c said in a hushed, grim tone.

"That's not good," Daniel nervously whispered.

Jack turned back to him. "Ya think?" Daniel gave him a look, and Jack stuck out his tongue.

"You know," Sam started, annoyed. "We are trying to get out of here alive. Sir." Jack raised his eyebrows because her 'Sir' had come a beat late. But he knew she had a point.

"Ok, on three, jump out and start shooting. We have to eliminate all of them before Amaris is to be brought out." He nodded towards the three in the back. Amaris was mumbling, and Devon and Daniel nodded dismally. "One, two, three."

It was almost poetry. Five fully trained soldiers all leapt up at the same moment, guns firing and a deafening sound was let out into the air. The Jaffa tried to fight back, but they only managed to fire a few shots from a staff weapon before they were eliminated. Quickly, Devon and Daniel brought Amaris out while Sam dialed the gate.

Daniel took this opportunity to look at Amaris for the first time. At least, look at her really well. She was wholly lovely, with a soft-looking face, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her facial expression was terrified, as if she had not yet realized she'd been rescued. It was painful to see, and he had to look away to avoid being sick. When Jack had escaped, he had just gone through a sarcophagus. From Amaris's appearances, she was in the midst of being tortured. Probably towards the end, right before he killed her and started over.

Instead of seeing that frightening sight, he watched as Sam punched in their emergency iris code, and he took comfort in the fact that a medical team was being brought into the gate room right now to save Amaris.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


	4. Chapter 4

OC List:

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk. Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

General Hammond was so used to hearing the sirens, he almost didn't respond when he heard them.

He didn't even know why they bothered to schedule times for teams to return. They always did whatever they wanted, anyways. And the Tok'ra floated in and out with the wind.

The job was wearing George Hammond out. Having officers like Jack O'Neill didn't help, either. Jack was a great guy, one of George's best friends, but he was a hard to control officer. Everyone else had been obedient, but Jack planted this seed of rebellion in each of them. They would follow Hammond to the ends of the universe, but they would still do whatever Jack O'Neill told them too.

"Who is it, Sergeant?" he asked. He then thought that he should consider getting a tape recorder, so his commonly used expressions (open the iris, close the iris, who is it, etc.) were available at the touch of a button. Maybe they should make plush toys.

"It's SG-1. And they're requesting a medical team."

"Then do it," he said, sharply.

"Yes, sir." He turned on the microphone, and all throughout the base, officers heard, "Medical team to the gate room."

George twisted his mouth around. It was one thing for a team to be untimely. Another for them to be hurt.

"Sergeant, why haven't you opened the iris," he asked when he saw the metal barrier was still here.

"You didn't order me too…"

Hammond shook his head and rubbed it. "Open the iris." _You'd think that after a while, they'd get the gist of their job…_

When SG-1 emerged through the wormhole, they were not alone. Two men, one on the small side, another very muscular, and two women, one carrying the other with Daniel. The woman being carried was in horrible condition; Hammond could tell from the control room. He hurried down to the gate room, now very curious as to what the story was.

The door slid open and General Hammond followed the medical team in. He watched with interest as the injured woman was carried away on a stretcher. He then turned his attention to the men and women standing in front of him, out of breath and looking worried. "What happened?"

"General," Jack started, and pulled off his hat. "It's a long story." The man's face was grim, and Hammond knew for sure it would not be a happy one.

"Very well. You can tell me during the debriefing at 2100. For now, will you at least introduce your friends to us?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. This is Keane, Lowell and Devon." He pointed to each of them as he said their name. "And you guys, this is General Hammond, our CO." The three all nodded briefly, but then stared down the hall through witch Amaris had been taken down moments before.

"The woman on the stretcher's name in Amaris." Daniel spoke. "We found her…being tortured-" Devon let out a squeal of horror "-while we were rigging the explosives."

Hammond nodded, but he noticed the look Sam was giving him. It was telling him that this abbreviated version was very abbreviated. "Save the rest for the briefing. Bring out guests to the VIP room to wait, and then meet me in the briefing room. I have to make a call."

"Wait!" Keane cried as the General was walking out.

"Yes, son?"

"Can't we see Amaris?"

The General exchanged looks with Jack, and said lightly, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to see her until the doctor's have her stabilized." At the look on Keane's face, the general couldn't help but add kindly, "We have the best medical professionals on this base. I promise Amaris will be ok." At that, he left and climbed the stairs into his office.

The three Aldercians looked around, weary. They had figured out that this team- SG-1 –did what they did as a team. They were standing in the Tau'ri- whatever that meant- version of the embarkation room. And they were defiantly on the Tau'ri planet.

"So…VIP room this way." Jack waved his hand and gestured the group through a giant door and down a hallway.

"Sir, I'm going to shower off." Sam had followed them down the hallway, but once they reached the elevator, she stopped.

"Fine, Carter. Don't be late for the debriefing."

"Yes sir." She nodded to the Aldercians and walked down the hallway once more as the doors closed on the remainder of SG-1 and Lowell, Keane and Devon.

The elevator went up and Daniel cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about Amaris." They looked at him. Jack's expression was screaming 'Open mouth, insert foot.'

"Yeah." Lowell said, not daring to look at the archeologist.

"But I promise…on this base, we have the most skilled medical professionals on Earth. They'll…" Daniel was about to continue with his comforting speech, but Devon cut him off.

"We're on Earth? That's what the Tau'ri are?"

Daniel blinked, stunned. All the men were looking at her like she was insane. "Yeah. The Tau'ri are the people from Earth."

Devon nodded in understanding. "You are the origin for all humans."

"That's right," he said enthusiastically. The elevator door chimed and opened. Jack ushered them out and lead them down yet another hall, but Devon and Daniel continued talking.

"On one of the first planets we visited, we came across some picture writing. It was very hard for me to decipher. It took ages." She took a deep breath, and her heart was beating quickly. _Wait until Amaris finds out! _"But I finally discovered, with Amaris's help, that it was about the transport of humans from Earth to other planets throughout the galaxy. We just didn't ever discover when or why."

Daniel was excited too. He could talk about this subject for hours. "Humans were- and in some places, still are- used as slaves for the Goa'uld. They simply spread them across the galaxy for use everywhere."

Devon chewed on the ends of her hair. "That's terrible."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed softly. "The Goa'uld are pure evil."

Keane snorted, finally having something to input. "You can say that again."

"The Goa'uld are, in fact, pure evil." Teal'c's deep voice came from the rear.

Daniel smiled at him. "Thank you, Teal'c." The Jaffa bowed.

Jack had led them to the VIP room. "Here it is." The three walked into it with interest, which soon died when they saw it was simply a resting place. "It's not much, but it will keep you out of trouble." He nodded briefly to them and shut the door. He gestured to an airman, and the door was guarded.

Daniel watched this occurrence when he realized something. "You don't trust them."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "It's not that I don't trust them, I just don't have reason to trust them. We did find them on a Goa'uld vessel."

"One of them was being tortured!"

"It could have been a set-up made by Ba'al!"

Daniel shook his head disapprovingly. "I don't believe that."

Jack lowered his head, exasperated. "Look, we're running a base. The security of the world depends upon our security measures. We have to be careful. I want them to be trustworthy, but if they don't give me a reason to believe in them, why should I?"

Daniel was about to disagree again when Teal'c spoke up. "Daniel Jackson, we have on many occasions, seen the Goa'uld use innocents to try and destroy Earth. We must eliminate that possibility before we can let them explore. They could be Za'tarcs."

Daniel surrendered, but his quiet mumblings made it clear that he disapproved of this thoroughly. The three men didn't speak as they walked back to the briefing room, each lost in thoughts and worries. This was a delicate situation.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dr. Janet Frasier sighed deeply and pushed her hair out of her face. She had saved Amaris, at least for now. The critical stage was over with, but there was sure to be some lasting side effects, horrifying scars, and the emotional damage torture causes. _Ba'al sure knows how to do a number._

Hammond had briefed her briefly after SG-1 had filled him in. She had yet to see the other Aldercians, but she knew they would be in the infirmary soon. Janet couldn't imagine being in their position- their leader had almost died. They might never be able to go home.

It showed just how dangerous their line of work was.

A sudden movement in the bed drew Janet's attention. Amaris had tried to lift her hand to rub her head, but instead let out a groan of pain.

"Don't move," Janet told her and propped a pillow under her arm. Amaris's eyes widened fearfully.

"I won't tell you anything!" She screamed, and thrashed in her bed, tossing the pillow on the floor. Tears were streaming down her face, from emotion and the pain that every slight movement caused.

"Calm down, you'll hurt yourself!" Janet tried to calm the woman, stroking her face and using soothing words.

They had no effect, and the woman simply resisted harder. Janet winced at her pain, and had no choice but to sedate her. The woman immediately fell limp against the bed.

"Could you put her in restraints, please," Janet asked the nurses. As they scurried to follow her orders, she looked at the woman lying in bed. When she awoke, she would without a doubt have a negative reaction to the restraints…but her teammates would be there, and maybe they could convince her that she was safe.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keane was pacing the room. Lowell was watching him. And Devon was watching out the window. They were being guarded. It was not a happy feeling.

"I don't think we can trust them," Keane said finally. Lowell rolled his eyes.

"Will you just relax? They saved us. They won't turn their backs on us now."

"You put too much trust in strangers, Lowell. It's foolish to do so."

The smaller man stood. "At least I'm not overly negative and cynical."

Devon turned away from the door. "Will you two relax?" she was exasperated and exhausted. She walked towards the small bed and lay down. "I just want this to be over. I don't really care what happens anymore, as long as we end up together."

The men fell silent. They both understood. But they had to fill the silence with something. They were men. Open emotion was unacceptable. Stiffly, they walked around the room, looking for something to do.

"What are these," Lowell asked with curiosity. He had found a small box, and when he opened it, there were many thin pieces of paper. They had two different colors, and four different drawings with numbers, J's, Q's, and K's.

"I don't know." Keane took the papers from him and fingered each one individually. "Maybe it's a code, or something."

Lowell's eyes widened. "What if this is some secret military training trick?"

Devon sat straight up as they continued spouting out strange theories about what the strange papers might be. "You guys are insane." They stopped and gave her a look. She just shook it off. "Show me those."

They handed them to her reluctantly, sad she ruined their fun. "It's a game." She put them back in the box and threw them at Keane.

"Well, if you're so smart, how do you play?"

Devon's eyes glistened playfully. "Figure it out. It'll give you something to do."

The two men scowled at her, and went to work. _We'll show her._

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jack waved his badge to the two airmen at the door and they stepped aside. He had come to fetch their visitors. Janet had wanted them to be present when Amaris woke up, to try and avoid a repeat of the time before.

The colonel opened the door to quite a scene. There were cards all over the place, and the two men had pinned the woman to the bed, tickling her mercilessly. She was screeching with laughter, protests flying. Lowell and Keane weren't holding back the least, it seemed.

Jack stopped to look at this for a moment. It was clear that the Aldercians were very close, probably closer to each other then SG-1 was. They acted like siblings, fighting, loving, and laughing together. Jack wanted that for his team. But things were different for these aliens. There were no rules or regulations keeping them from behaving like that. If he had been seen tickling Sam like that, he would be court marshaled in an instant. They couldn't be close knit friends like that in the workplace, even though he would like to be.

He finally cleared his throat, and the three Aldercians fell apart instantly, and stood. Their faces were red from laughter, and they were breathing heavily, but struggling to look composed. Devon was the first to calm down, which was surprising, since she took the brunt of the torment.

"Is Amaris alright?" She was actually feeling a bit guilty about behaving childishly while Amaris was recovering.

"Well, she woke up once, but we had to sedate her." They game him a puzzled look. "…Give her a drug to make her sleep. She was behaving in a way that ultimately would have caused her more pain, so for her well-being, we made her sleep and she is now in restraints."

Keane's eyebrows furrowed and he asked, "Well, can we at least see her now?"

"Oh yeah. I came to get you guys. Doctor Frasier wants you to be there when she wakes up. It might calm her." He paused here, looking at their eager faces. "But I warn you. What she went through was…upsetting. She won't be herself for a while."

Devon walked up to him and touched his face lightly. He shivered a little, knowing what she was thinking. He had gone through the same thing Amaris had. But he was ok. Key word being ok. Was he himself? Jack wondered for the first time in a long time, _Am I still me after all that happened?_

"Well," she said softly, withdrawing her hand. "We can wait for her." Her hands fell to her sides, and she smiled sweetly. "So, to the sickbay?"

"Right." Jack tore himself from his reverie. "This way." He led them down the halls to the infirmary and to Amaris.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Devon was sitting in the chair next to Amaris's bed, resting her chin in her hand. Lowell was standing over her with a supportive hand on her shoulder. Every now and hen he squeezed, reminding her that he was there, and he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Keane, on the other hand, was all over the room. At first he was content to stand next to his sister, much like Devon was, but soon he became restless. He was a ball of nerves, and Devon thought it was best not to talk to him at the risk of being exploded at.

The woman who occasionally came to check Amaris's vitals talked to them kindly. She introduced herself as Dr. Frasier and that if they needed anything she would get it for them. However, none of them ever responded with more than a nod. The easy atmosphere that had been created before had evaporated.

"She should wake up in a few minutes." Dr. Frasier had come back. "Are you guys going to be ok? I mean, she is not herself."

Lowell looked down at Devon's head, and then spoke to the Doctor. "She will be eventually. And she needs to see us if we're ever going to get her back."

The woman nodded, disappeared. She returned shortly with another chair and offered it to Keane, who was walking a hole in the floor. When he refused, she looked over to Lowell. She saw that he was the moral support for Devon, so she took the chair for herself. Devon looked at her, startled.

"I need to be here if we have to administer more sedative."

"You don't think that she'll need it?" Devon asked, earnestly.

Janet sighed. "Unfortunately, I think she will. The first time she fully regained consciousness, she believed that she was still being tortured, and became a danger to herself. You guys being here might help, but if it doesn't, the last thing we want is her hurting herself, or even one of you."

"Amaris would _never _hurt one of us." Keane told her, passionately.

Janet's eyes were sad. "The sarcophagus-the device that kept bringing her back to life- alters the brain chemistry of a subject over prolonged exposure. A mixture of that and torture is enough to make someone forget their own mother."

Keane still refused to believe her. "It won't bother Amaris like that. She's too strong."

"I don't want you to be disappointed," she tried one more time, but Keane wouldn't hear of it. And Janet had run out of time to convince him otherwise. Amaris was stirring.

"Keane?" She rasped the question, squinting at the figure pacing alongside her bed.

"Amaris!" He flew to her side. "It's me, it's Keane. You're safe now, I promise." He reached out to stroke her hair, but she struggled against the restraints.

"You can't pretend to be him! You're not my brother! Stop trying, because I won't tell you anything. Just kill me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, and Devon sprung to her side.

"Amaris, it's really him. And I'm me." She reached for Lowell's sleeve. "And Lowell too. See, we're all here together." Her voice begged Amaris to believe in her. It was enough to break Janet's heart, and she began crying.

"No! I don't believe you! You killed them, I know it!" Amaris cried out in pain, physical and the pain of loss.

"Oh, 'maris. You didn't lose us. We're here with you, and we're safe. I promise." Devon tried again.

"I can't trust you. Because you're not Devon. You're Ba'al." Amaris had calmed a little, and was no longer thrashing. Janet took advantage of her stillness and took her vitals. Amaris was exhausted, and stared into space instead of fighting.

"Amaris, it's really us." Lowell said, gently, trying not to rile her up again. The woman lying in bed simply shook her head no, and showed no emotion. All that was there was a blank, vacant face.

Devon looked over at the Doctor. "Dr. Frasier, there must be something…"

Janet shook her head. "Only time will heal her, Devon. I'm sorry I can't do more. Physically, she just needs more time for things in her body to mend. But, in that time, she has to go through withdrawal from the sarcophagus and she has to accept that she's here now. Here and safe. It's going to be a long road. I think you have to accept that before you can do anything for her."

It was hard for them to hear this, but they had been warned. Painfully, they all abandoned their attempts to comfort her and sat again.

No one had seen Jack, but he had been watching from the door. He, at their surrender, walked over. "At the risk of sounding repetitive, it'll be a long road to recovery."

"So we hear." Keane was tired of everyone telling him his sister wasn't ok. He _knew. _And it was his fault. He should never have let her go. _He _should be the one lying in that bed, confused and in pain. Not his sister.

At least he got her out of there. And now she might be saved.

"Listen…I know this isn't the best time to…" Jack tried to find the words. "This might anger you, but, we have to do some tests on you to make sure you're not a risk to the base."

"A risk to the base? What do you mean? All we're here for is Amaris." Devon didn't understand the look Jack was giving them.

"What kind of tests?" Keane knew what the Colonel was thinking about, understood his concern.

"Well," Jack started, going through the long list in his head. "We need to do a lie- detector test of sorts…but that will be done later; we need to contact the Tok'ra." He winced, praying their visit would be 'Anise-less.' "And a little thingy to make sure there's no snakes in you're heads. And the doc is tired of poking me with needles…she needs a new toy." He finished, and saw the looks they were giving him. They had no idea what the hell he was talking about. "It'll be quick and painless." They didn't look convinced. "Who's going first?"

The three exchanged looks, and finally Keane nodded and said, "I am."

"Good. Doc?" Dr. Frasier looked up from reading Amaris's vitals. "Keane here is going first for the physicals you'll be performing on these fine folks."

"Eww, fun." Janet smiled warmly. "If you'll just come this way…"

She led Keane away, leaving Devon and Lowell with O'Neill and Amaris. The colonel addressed his companions. "Hungry?" It must have been forever since they last ate.

"Actually…" Devon grabbed her stomach and it audibly growled. "I am."

"Me too." Lowell's eyes had grown wide at the mention of food. "What do you have?"

"Well, lots of stuff that's hard to ruin, but the commissary manages it anyways." He paused thoughtfully. "They have good pie!"

"What is…" Devon wrinkled her nose. "…pie?"

Jack beamed. She had uncovered a topic Jack could easily talk about. "Pie is wonderful." He led his charges to the commissary, missing their wistful glances in their teammate's direction.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to Agent-G for his help. He noticed that my story was slightly confusing character-wise, so from now on there will be a character list at the top of each page; starting at chapter 2 (I added them just now)_

OC List:

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk. Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Well, you're not a Goa'uld, and you're in perfect health. But, we'll have to wait for the Tok'ra to determine whether or not you are a Za'tarc." Janet was looking at her clipboard and sharing her findings with Keane. "Now, I'm going to report this to the general. I think Devon and Lowell are in the commissary, if you want to join them."

Keane stood from his seat at the edge of a bed. "I'm not hungry."

"Well," Janet started with motherly concern. "You must not have eaten in a while. I find it hard to believe that you're not hungry." She said this while placing her clipboard on the table near the foot of the bed.

"To be honest, Dr. Frasier, I'm starving. But, I find it impossible to eat while my little sister is laying there." He had meandered over to her bed and sat near her head.

"Keane, if you wait for her, you'll starve. At least let me bring you something."

"Naw, I'll be ok. I'll eat eventually." Janet looked at him unconvinced, but surrendered and left the infirmary to the General's office.

Keane reached his hand to his sister's forehead and stroked her gently, brushing the hair out of her face. She looked thin, and pale. Amaris had only been victim of Ba'al for a day. Imagine more. She would have wasted away into nothing.

He closed his eyes and rested. He'd been running around for so long, it felt good to keep his eyes closed and just sit there, feeling his sister's smooth skin. When his eyes were closed, he couldn't see her haunted face, and it felt like she was fine. Keane lost track of time, and had fallen into a light sleep sitting at his sister's bedside.

The young man had only been there for 15 minutes when there was a slight movement under his hand. He didn't feel it, but Amaris's eyes opened softly. She woke to the sight of her loving, devoted big brother sleeping at her side, and never leaving her face. She loved Keane so much. She needed to let him know.

"Keane."

It was soft, but it was something. His face twitched a little, so Amaris tried again.

"Keane."

This did it. He blinked his eyes several times, then focused on her face. "Amaris."

"Keane." They stared into each others eyes, his green like their mother and hers brown like their fathers. And of course, Keane's were identical to Harvey's.

"You're awake." He came in closer and gave her a hug, driving his face into her hair, which was sprawled out across the pillow. "And you're safe, Amaris. It's over."

She was overcome with emotion. The tears came, but they weren't the desperate, fearful tears that had fallen before. They were tears of relief and love, hope and promise. "I'm okay." She said it to not only comfort her brother, but herself. She remembered yelling at her team, and the faces they all wore. They horror at the thought of what had been done to her, and the worry that she would never recover.

"Are you sure Amaris? Because you've been through hell. You don't have to pretend to be strong just to make us happy."

It helped to hear that from him. But at that moment, she was okay. The last shred of her family was there with her, holding her. There was no question in her mind that if she ever felt sick or scared, Keane would be the last person she would tell. He'd been through enough. "I'm really okay now, Keane. It might catch up with me later, but for now, we're together." They stayed in their positions for a while, relaxing and no longer afraid.

Then, Devon walked in the room.

Keane picked his head up to see who had come in the door, and that's when Devon let out a thankful shriek. "You're awake!" She ran over to the bed and threw her arms around Amaris. Amaris winced in pain, and Devon quickly withdrew herself. "I'm so sorry! I forgot…I mean, I was just so happy…"

Amaris smiled painfully. "I understand." Devon then wrapped her arms around Amaris again, only gently this time.

"Thank god," Devon breathed into her ear, and Amaris tightened her grasp on Devon, silently agreeing with the woman who she adored so greatly. The little sister she never had.

"Are you going to let me have a turn?" The two women parted, a little reluctantly, but Lowell was here. And they loved Lowell too.

"Well, Lowell, if you weren't so damn slow all the time…" Amaris told him jokingly as he strode across the room to hug her.

"I'm glad to see you awake, Amaris."

Amaris sniffled at the feeling in his voice. "It's good to see you guys. Throughout the whole…" she faltered. "My worst fears were always that he was going to hurt you. I didn't even care what he did to me anymore…but I thought he killed you guys." Lowell backed away, looking in her teary eyes. "I love you all so much. I'm so glad you're all ok."

_This is almost too much to watch_, Sam thought. She had followed Lowell to the infirmary to see how Amaris was doing, and when she rounded the corner she saw the most beautiful thing she'd seen in a while.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

About an hour later, Amaris was sitting in the infirmary alone, staring at the ceiling. Apparently, the Tok'ra had come and her teammates had to take a Za'tarc test. She had no clue what that meant, but once she got on her feet; she needed to take one too.

It was hard for her to sit here with nothing to do. Before, when she was surrounded, they were all talking to her, distracting her. Now, all she could think about was Ba'al.

No one ever told her about what had happen to that Goa'uld. Had they killed him? Did he get away? She had asked Keane, as he was the last to leave. He just stiffened and told her he had to go, abandoning her to thought. It was clear he was protecting her, but she needed to know or the thought of it would torture her forever.

_Torture._

She shivered, and pulled the blankets up. Dr. Frasier had told her it might be best to sleep, but Amaris didn't dare. She knew the nightmares would come. And maybe she could avoid sleep until they left her alone for the night, so no one could see her humiliation.

A sudden noise at the door made her jump. She was comforted though, when she saw who came in. He was pretty cute, brown hair, blue eyes, and he was walking towards her. He had glasses on, but they truly suited him, and complimented his facial features.

"Hey. I'm Daniel." He had walked to her bedside and offered a hand.

"Amaris." She took it and smiled.

"I just came to see how you were doing. Your brother told me you were doing ok, so I thought we could talk."

She nodded, but her face was set. "I'll talk with you, if you promise to tell me something."

Daniel wasn't surprised at all. He was told by Devon that Amaris was a curious and smart individual. "Sure, I guess. But some things I can't tell you…we haven't yet given you a za'tarc test."

"That has no meaning to me, Daniel. But, I think you'll be able to answer me this."

"Then by all means ask."

She smiled, hoping that he would tell her. "Ba'al…what happened to him?"

Daniel made a face. He should have known. Keane wanted to shield his sister from her tormentor's fate, but he couldn't lie to her. Her hazel eyes were so hopeful…she was genuinely curious, worried. It would keep her up all night, to not know. He wanted to spare her that pain. But then again, knowing he probably survived would torment her too. And the fact that her brother slit Ba'al's throat might bother her too. She loved Keane…it was evident when he peeked in during their happy reunion. Sam saw it too and shared it with him.

"I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell your brother I told you."

Her eyebrows shot down in a furrow. "Why?"

"He didn't want to tell you," he said honestly. "And I want to stay on his good side. It seems like a good idea."

"Yeah," she laughed lightly. "He could probably squash you like a bug." When she saw Daniel's face, she laughed harder. "Oh, I didn't mean to offend! It's just…when Keane gets angry, you can feel it in the air. You even start to get angry." She seemed lost in thought, face a little sorrowful. She was thinking of the first time he had gotten that angry.

He had been a POW for months, and when he finally came home, his mother and father had died of cancer, his younger sister a scientist. It was really his worst nightmare. Then, after the war, Amaris and Keane discovered Harvey had died. The body was returned to them, and they gave him a proper funeral, buried next to their parents.

Things went downhill fast. Amaris and Keane lived together and were in serious financial trouble. Amaris got sick, and the medical bills put them even deeper in debt. Keane took it horribly, blaming himself for their troubles by letting his CO leave Harvey behind. "We wouldn't be in this mess if he were here, Amaris," he had told her one night, when she came in from working late at night to see him crying on the couch.

She still didn't believe it, and he knew it. Even after the trouble had passed and all was well, he never forgave himself. So when Keane was angry, it wasn't at the world. It was the inner anger and self-loathing he still harbored.

"I won't tell him," she finally said, eyes moist. Daniel didn't know what had just happened, so he had no option other than to just tell her.

"Do you remember me and my team bursting into the room?"

Amaris thought hard, digging through the pain. She found it in her memory, a shred of hope at the sight of them trying to save her. "I do. But…he was going to kill you," she said horrified.

"He was…but then from the shadows jumped your brother and Devon. She was aiming a weapon and firing, all to stop Ba'al from hurting us, and further harming you."

Amaris's face brightened at the thought of Devon. "She's really grown up. She's so brave now."

"Well, from what I understand, she got it from you." Amaris blushed.

"Please, continue."

"Well, while she did that, your brother took care of Ba'al." Daniel wondered if that would be enough for her. He didn't want to tell her about the anger he saw in her brother's face.

"I see." Her voice was quiet, and Daniel winced. It was clear she knew already, what he was trying not to hint at.

"And once we were freed, we released you, met up with Lowell, and ran to the gate."

"Wait," she interrupted. "Why were you guys on Ba'al's ship to begin with?"

"We were rigging it to explode and wipe out all of Ba'al's fleet."

She brightened significantly. "That's great! So he's gone?"

Daniel clenched his teeth. "We don't know what went wrong, but the explosives never went off. And, as you very well know, Ba'al has a device…"

"To bring him back to life," she finished for him, nodding sadly. "So he's still out there."

"Yeah." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Well, at least he doesn't have our gate address. I kept my secret." She seemed so pleased with herself, that Daniel didn't have the heart to tell her that Allard had gone through the gate rather recklessly, and as far as he knew, Ba'al was destroying her home right now.

"Yeah. You did great, Amaris." She smiled at his praise.

"But wait! What happened to Allard? He was with my team."

"He…didn't want to rescue you. So, the story that I got was that her was restrained and Lowell watched him while Devon and Keane rescued you. But he got away, and we guess he's back on Aldercy."

She shook her head. "They should have gone with them…now they cannot return home without facing severe punishment."

Daniel smiled at her concern. "I think you're worth it." She blushed. "I mean…I think you're worth it to them. You're like their sister."

"Yeah." She twisted her mouth in thought.

"But um, what I wanted to talk to you about was this writing that Devon said you guys found a while back?"

"Yes, about the Tau'ri. Earth." She smiled.

"How much do you know about the Tau'ri?"

"I know you've probably pissed off your share of Goa'ulds."

Daniel smiled slightly. "You know that more than anyone else."

"Yeah. And I also know this is where humans originated. We were moved to other planets by means of the stargate. I don't know exactly why, but I think it has to do with the Goa'uld."

"So much in this universe does." He pulled out a notebook and turned through the pages. He finally stopped at a page where a photograph was taped in with some sloppy notes below it. "This is the picture of the stargate buried in the ground. You can see the cover stone and the markings." Amaris took the notebook, interested.

"Devon's the archeologist, but I recognize these markings. They're the ones we found and deciphered about the Tau'ri. Unfortunately, most of the wall where the marking were was destroyed. We could only get information from a little, and even that was hard to come by. It was a very difficult translation."

Daniel nodded his agreement. "So hard, that the markings were not deciphered until after our first trip through the gate 8 years ago."

"When was this picture taken then?"

"Umm…about 65 years ago. We only discovered the uses of the Stargate 8 years ago."

Her eyebrows rose. "That's quite a gap. We discovered out Stargate 10 years ago, and the program has been up and running for a year."

"Impressive."

"Well," she said, slightly embarrassed for her world. "It was only funded because we hoped to use the gate for military uses, like a weapon. We had to abandon that idea. We just go through it to get weapons, etc."

"We had to compromise for that too," Daniel said knowingly. _I really like talking to her. She seems to understand, and be interested, and care about it._

She smiled brightly, hazel eyes shining. "We have a lot in common."

"Well, technically, we're all from this planet. So we have more in common than we're aware of."

"…But this writing? What did it say?" Her eyes had been drawn to the photo again, reminded that he was telling a story.

"Well, it gave the story of how the Goa'uld came to earth, looking for slaves. Humans were abducted and forced to work. The Goa'uld took humans as hosts, even, and made them worship them. The reign of the Goa'uld on Earth was a horror story."

She frowned. "What does that mean…to use humans as hosts?"

Daniel looked into her eyes. He didn't like talking about that. But she was so curious, like a child. He couldn't help but share with her. Taking the notebook and flipping the pages, he came to a picture of a Goa'uld symbiote.

"This enters the body, attaches itself to the brain stem, and controls the body." Amaris winced, but Daniel continued. "You can only tell if they are a Goa'uld by the voice, unless you have been a host before. The naquada marker in the blood would allow you to detect a symbiote."

"That's what he meant, then," Amaris said softly, and went over the outline of the snake-type being with her fingers, and then touched the back of her neck, where her brain stem was.

"He threatened to make you a host?" Daniel asked her, disgusted.

"He said…" she strained to remember. "I think he said I would make a perfect vessel. For his queen. I didn't know what he meant…" She trailed off and closed the notebook. She breathed deeply, trying to keep her composure. Ba'al had some nerve.

Daniel watched her struggle. It was hard to accept that someone was convinced you were perfect to be possessed. Daniel could understand what Ba'al saw in Amaris, though. The same thing he and Apophis both saw in Sha're. Amaris actually looked like Sha're a little bit.

"The Goa'uld are evil. And you should be thankful you could be rescued before…" he trailed off and turned away, overcome.

"Before I became a host?"

"Yeah."

"I don't feel thankful. I feel like crap." She sat up. "I'm afraid to fall asleep, because I remember every damn detail, and I know I'll have to relive it again in my dreams. I think I'd rather be a host then live like this."

Daniel snatched his notebook up and stood. "How can you say something like that?"

She was startled at his angry and almost aggressive reaction. "What?"

"Amaris, I know what the Goa'uld do to people. My wife was taken as a host seven years ago. But I knew she was still there, screaming against the demon within her. I was even able to talk to her once. She was still her, but she watched herself do horrible things…without being able to stop it. The Goa'uld can inflict damage to their host. They're in complete control. They have access to their host's memories. Being a host is worse then death."

Daniel then stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked Amaris. She didn't know…she didn't understand how personal it was to Daniel. _His wife is a Goa'uld? That must be horrible._ She immediately felt badly about what she said.

Sinking back into the pillow, she thought about what she had learned from him. There was no way the history was done, and she wanted to know the rest. But she had angered Daniel. He was not coming back to see her anytime soon.

………………………………………………………………………………………………


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry this chapter is so delayed…I had computer issues earlier this week._

OC List

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk , Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Janet came in to find a contemplative Amaris, biting her lips.

"Hey," she said to the woman, smiling as kindly as she could.

"Hey," was her weak reply.

"Something's bugging you," Janet said pointedly as she took Amaris's pulse and made some marks on her clipboard.

"I said something that offended Daniel, and I feel horribly."

Janet arched her eyebrows. "Oh? And what did you say?"

Amaris opened her mouth to respond when the entrance of Major Carter interrupted her. Amaris then shut her mouth and smiled a greeting. She had met this woman briefly after she woke up.

"Hey Janet, Amaris."

"Hey Sam. Amaris was just telling me about something she said to Daniel. Apparently he got pretty upset."

"I didn't mean to bother him, I didn't know." Amaris tried to defend herself, which wasn't working because she was angry with what she had said.

"Well, what did you say?" Amaris meekly looked at the two women.

"I said…I would rather be a Goa'uld host than live with the memory of what has happened to me."

Both of them sucked in their cheeks, horrified, and knowing Daniel must have taken much worse than they did.

"I didn't know what I was saying! I don't mean that…I'm just…I'm scared."

Sam softened a bit, remembering the hell Amaris had just been through. The girl wasn't thinking straight. "Why are you still scared? You're safe here, Amaris."

Amaris pursed her lips and held back tears. "I'm afraid to fall asleep. Because I know it'll happen again. I'll see everything, feel everything. And I'll never stop dying."

Janet touched the woman's arm softly. "It's going to be a long time before you feel safe again, I understand that. It doesn't help that you're not home."

Amaris nodded, crying silently. "I didn't mean to offend him! I feel horrible." She wiped her eyes, and the two women nodded sympathetically. "Then he told me that his wife is a Goa'uld host, and automatically I knew I had screwed up, and how could I have been so blind as to not see how thankful I should be? I still have my life, my brother, my team…my free will." She hung her head dejectedly. "I'm a horrible person."

"No, you're not. You just didn't understand." Sam tried to calm her. Amaris was defiantly a sympathetic being, and she would continue to feel guilt for a long time.

"But his wife!"

Janet looked at Sam, and the blonde nodded. It was time to tell her about Sha're's fate.

"Daniel has been through a lot, Amaris. He first discovered how to use our stargate eight years ago, and he went through on the first mission to Abydos." Janet started, trying to be as abbreviated as possible. It wasn't really her place to tell this practical stranger Daniel's entire history. "He then fell in love. After defeating the System Lord Ra, the Abydonians were free, and Daniel stayed with them, married to Sha're."

Sam took it from there. "Unfortunately, Colonel O'Neill-you've met him- was supposed to eliminate the threat…and that meant to our military at the time blowing up Abydos. Needless to say, he didn't, and kept the people of Abydos a secret, and Daniel lived there with the people for a year. That was when it all fell apart."

Amaris stared intently into the women's eyes. "What happened?"

"Another Goa'uld came through the gate. And that was when we thought there were only two gates. So a team- this time with me on it- went through the gate and met the natives. While we were there, Sha're and her brother were taken by a Goa'uld to be hosts. And both were."

"Are they still Goa'ulds, then?"

Janet crinkled her forehead. "No. Skaara was actually freed from his symbiote; unfortunately he died a few months ago when another Goa'uld attacked Abydos. And Sha're…after giving birth to a child and hiding him, died at the hand of Teal'c. She still had her symbiote, and was only killed because she was killing Daniel."

"That's terrible." Sam nodded, blue eyes moist.

"Daniel has had a tough life, tougher than need be. He died a year ago, ascended, and returned. He has only recently remembered his life before ascension. He is also an orphan, and his grandfather didn't want to take care of him. His ideas are often laughed at by other archeologists who don't have knowledge of the Stargate program."

The three sat in silence, thinking about Daniel. Amaris finally spoke.

"Was all of that supposed to make me feel better? Because if possible, I feel worse."

"No." Janet smiled. "It was supposed to give you better insight. And now you'll know what not to say."

Amaris smiled slightly as well, still a little upset. "Well, there's that."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What is your name?" Keane blinked and looked into the spot as he was directed. The man speaking had a deep, distorted voice; much like Ba'al's and it was making him uncomfortable. But the Tau'ri trusted him, so he did too.

"Keane Gotin." He swallowed uncomfortably and shifted, only to find himself restrained.

"Keane. What is your purpose on Earth?" The man behind the machine looked up from the screen to look at the subject.

"I'm here to help my sister get better."

As he answered, the Tok'ra kept his eyes on the screen with the occasional nod. "Who is your sister?"

"Her name is Amaris." His nostrils flared. "She was tortured by Ba'al for information she didn't have. And now she's lying in a sickbay, light-years from home."

"Are you close to your sister?"

"Yes," he said tensely. "Extremely."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? She's my little sister!" Keane's blood was staring to boil, and the Tok'ra nervously backed up.

"Yes, well…um." He looked at a clipboard and tried to regain his composure. "How do you know your other two companions?"

Keane took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. "Well, Lowell grew up with Amaris and I. We were neighbors, and Lowell went into the military with my brother and me. He ended up on our team for travels through the stargate."

The Tok'ra's eyes flew down to the screen again and he nodded. "Very well. Could you please give an account of your recent trip to P3R-525, and Ba'al's mothership?"

"Well," he started. "It was going to be a simple intelligence mission…"

As he gave his account to the Tok'ra, Hammond and Jack were watching from the observation room.

"Jack, are you alright?" Hammond looked to his 2IC with concern in his eyes.

"Yeah. Peachy," Jack snapped, then remembered who he was talking to. "Sorry General."

"I understand, son." They went back to silence.

"…When they came for Amaris, I tried to go in her place so she could get away…"

"They've had a rough day."

Jack snorted. "Yeah."

George cleared his throat. "Have you spoken to Ms. Gotin?" Jack looked at him, confused. "Amaris."

"Nope," he said nonchalantly.

"Well I think you should."

"General, it was bad enough being on a ship with Ba'al…then failing to take him down. I don't want to have a heart-to-heart with some alien about how he tortured us."

The General pursed his lips, then got up the courage to address the younger man again. "I think it would be nice of you to help her move past this."

"Well, I didn't have anyone, and look at me! I'm my normal, charming self."

Hammond stood, and tried to keep the disappointment off his face unsuccessfully. "Jack, it may be hard to talk about, but you should. For your sake, not just the sake of our new friends."

"…Devon and I took off, leaving Lowell with the Commander."

When Jack didn't respond, Hammond finished off with a powerful final word. "You're not exactly yourself, Jack. You know that. Maybe talking to Amaris will help you." He laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I won't order you, but as a friend, I recommend it."

He then left Jack to think for a while. Hammond knew Jack had the sense to know talking to Amaris was a good idea, and it would happen. When he was ready, of course, but it would happen.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keane walked out of the room and was about to make is way to the infirmary to see Amaris when Devon came bounding down the hall, practically glowing.

"Well, you're happy." Keane smiled at Devon's face. She'd been a radiator for joy in the past few hours, after Amaris had awoken. Keane, however, was not as joyful. He was ecstatic at the fact that his sister was alright, but the fact that he could never go home was looming in the back of his mind. He didn't remind any of his teammates, though. The last thing he wanted was to dampen their spirits.

"Of course I'm happy!" She grinned and enveloped him in a huge hug. "Are you a Za'tarc?"

"Nope."

"That's a relief." She sighed. "Sam was telling me about what they are, and it doesn't sound fun."

"Have you been cleared?"

"I'm going now." She grimaced. "Does it hurt or anything?"

"It doesn't hurt…but the guy is kinda nosy." He frowned. "He also talks like Ba'al, and it was bothering me."

She suddenly became very solemn. "I can imagine." The pair stood for a moment in silence, then Devon brought herself to her senses. "I should probably go now. Are you going to see Amaris?"

He shuffled from one foot to the other, a sign of impatience. "Yeah."

"Well, give her my love."

Keane waved as she disappeared into the room from whence he came, then made his way down the hallways.

He peeked into the infirmary to see what Amaris was doing. If she was sleeping, he would go to the VIP room and take a nap. He was exhausted, and he actually couldn't remember the last time he slept more than and hour at a time.

But Amaris was not sleeping, instead reading with a thoughtful expression on her face. Keane strolled up to the bed, and her eyes left the page to scan her brother's face. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey yourself." He sat in the chair that was next to her bed. Amaris was almost never without visitors, and it was almost without a doubt that the chair would be a permanent fixture. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, just a book on Wormhole physics from Sam." She flipped a page. "It doesn't really help that I don't recognize any of these terms, but I think I get it. We're at about the same technological level as the Tau'ri, but they do have different terminology."

Keane nodded with pretend interest, but Amaris noticed.

"You don't care," she said with a slight laugh and shut the book.

"Well…yeah." He took her hand. Amaris sighed.

"I'm fine, Keane. We don't have to do this whole 'at my deathbed' routine."

"I know. It just makes me feel better." His stomach growled, and at the sound, Amaris's eyebrow shot up.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Keane wore a guilty expression and didn't bother answering.

"Keane…go eat something. I'm ordering you," she said with authority.

"Yes ma'am," he saluted her mockingly, kissed her forehead, and backed out of the room. "But only because you're _ordering_ me."

"Smart-ass," she muttered, grinning, and opened her book to the last page, and started reading again.

"Miss Amaris. I am pleased to see you are well."

The deep voice came suddenly, and seemingly from nowhere. Amaris looked up from her book, and even though she had only have her attention on it for mere moments, a tall Jaffa was standing over her.

She at first felt fear. Amaris hadn't really had the best experiences with Jaffa. But then she noticed his emblem was different, and his smile was not menacing, but genuine. It wasn't overwhelming either, which was good. Every smile she'd been on the receiving end of in the past few hours was too broad. His was nice. There was no doubt she was standing (in a manner of speaking) face-to-face with Teal'c.

"You must be Teal'c."

He bowed, but did not take the seat next to her bed. "What gave away my identity?"

"From what I've heard, you're the only burly Jaffa on this base."

"At least at the moment."

"Of course." She closed the book, and gestured to the chair. "Why don't you sit."

"Thank you, Amaris Gotin."

Her smile became lopsided. "You don't have to call me 'Amaris Gotin.' A plain 'Amaris' will suffice."

Teal'c slowly nodded. "Very well. But do not tell O'Neill. He has on many occasions tried to make me call him 'Jack,' and on many occasions failed. As with Daniel Jackson and Major Carter."

"It'll be our secret." She extended her hand to seal the deal, and he took it hesitantly. The length of that arm was covered with a cast.

"How are you fairing, Amaris?"

"Good, considering."

"Indeed. You have shown much strength throughout this ordeal. However, you must remember there is still much for you to recover from." He hesitated then leaned in, as if to tell her a secret. "O'Neill went through the same difficulties you have, and he even he did not recover automatically."

"O'Neill…he's the one with the gray hair, correct?"

"Indeed. He has yet to come in and speak with you. I wished he would do so, however he is most stubborn about such matters."

"I understand why he wouldn't want to talk about it," she said quietly, and Teal'c was silenced. But not for too long.

"It may be painful, Amaris, but bottling up such pain can be destructive. O'Neill has yet to learn that lesson, despite the fact that many times his life has been in peril due to his stubbornness."

She smiled a little, and said, "I don't think one can ever be considered stubborn until it's put their life in peril."

Teal'c smiled in his subtle way and commented, "You may be correct."

Amaris was relaxed and leaned back slowly into the pillows. "So…where are you from?"

He had opened his mouth to speak when another presence came into the room. He turned in the chair to see a flustered Jack O'Neill entering.

"Amaris Gotin," Teal'c said in his formal manner. "May I present Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1."

Her lip trembled a bit at the intimidating sight of him. The Colonel wasn't really a large man, but boy, did he have presence. And maybe it was because she was an ugly reminder of the past, but he was scowling and had a dark aura.

"Nice to meet you, Colonel," she managed, but he simply grunted.

That is, he grunted, but quickly amended himself when he say Teal'c's face. "Nice to see you doing well."

The silence was deafening. Amaris tried to keep smiling, but it was becoming more and more strained by the millisecond. Teal'c simply kept his eyebrow up, and Jack was shifting his weight from foot to foot.

_Ok, this is enough, _Jack decided and simply walked out.

The pair watched him go, and Teal'c shook his head. "I apologize for O'Neill's most immature behavior."

Amaris's sad eyes were still on the door from whence he left. "I'm not sure if I would behave any differently."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Fa'mar made his way down the halls and to the main chamber. His master would be most pleased. Nato, _he_ was most pleased.

True, that _woman_ (he spat the word in his mind) had fled, with the help of the Tau'ri no less, but his master would be avenged. Because of that one man's foolish actions.

He would find pleasure in destroying that world. Fa'mar was as black in his heart as his master was. Ba'al knew it, and often praised him for it.

"My Lord," Fa'mar said as he bowed before his master.

"Rise." Ba'al looked upon him with pride. Fa'mar was one of the cruelest Jaffa in his troops.

"I bring good news. While the Tau'ri escaped, we now have a new stargate address. We have reason to believe that this planet is very important to the Tau'ri, as the people who were with them hail from there."

Ba'al frowned, not consoled. "I would have preferred the woman." He delved deep into thoughts, visions of killing her repeatedly; defiling her for the humiliation she caused him.

"I understand that, my lord. However, imagine the emotional damage the destruction of this planet would cause her. Far more satisfying than any physical pain." He grinned at the mere thought.

Ba'al's frown turned into his best smirk. "This is true." He stood and walked over to the window. "You are the wisest First Prime I have ever had." Fa'mar opened his mouth to humble himself, but Ba'al stopped him. "You are worthy of my praise."

Fa'mar bowed, elated. "Shall I go and change our course for this new world?"

"Of course," Ba'al said, then went back to his seat. "Inform me when we draw near."

Having received his orders, Fa'mar bowed once again and left the chamber. Once he was outside, his eyes glowed and he wore a self-satisfied grin. In a deep, distorted voice that was unlike his own, he murmured to himself, "That fool."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

New Character: Fa'mar, Jaffa in the service of Ba'al (First Prime), however, as you may have guessed, he has a hidden agenda! (gasp!)


	7. Chapter 7

...If I say "I'm sorry" will you forgive me? There will be another chapter up by the end of the weekend. I totally promise.

OC List

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk , Male, late forties.

Fa'mar: Jaffa in the service of Ba'al (First Prime), however, as you may have guessed, he has a hidden agenda!

* * *

Keane scanned the commissary for a familiar face. The chances of finding one were slim, but he did not want to eat completely alone.

There.

He saw a dark-haired man at a table alone reading. He was inconspicuous, as Keane's eyes had passed over him numerous times before stopping at him. It was the glasses sitting on the edge of the table that finally caught Keane's eyes. This man had been on the planet with them.

"Excuse me," Keane said nervously as he walked up to the table. The man sitting at it whipped his head up and quickly snatched up his glasses.

"Sorry," the man said as if it was a reflex and he cleared his books from the table with clumsy, jerky movements. He recovered quickly, and smiled a broad smile. Keane automatically decided he liked this man.

"No, my fault. I shouldn't sneak up on people." Keane placed his tray down in the place across from the other man and sat.

"You're Keane." He pushed his glasses further up the ridge of his nose and looked directly into his companion's eyes.

"Yeah." Shifting uncomfortably under the man's gaze, Keane added, "You are one of the men who was there, right? Dr…"

"Dr. Jackson, but call me Daniel." He surveyed Keane a little longer with his scholarly eye. "Finally getting something to eat?"

"Yeah," Keane said with a smile. "Amaris ordered me to. It's good to know she's coming back strong. It's just like back home, when I was working to hard." Keane'e expression softened and his eyes had a faraway gleam in them. "She always overworked herself too, but apparently it was acceptable for her. Nothing I could do or say would ever get her out of that damn lab."

Daniel squirmed a little uncomfortably at the mention of Amaris's name. But he couldn't help but smile, as the situation reminded him of a scenario often played through at the SGC.

"Sounds a little like me," he added, trying to make conversation with this newcomer, even if he did not see eye to eye with said newcomer's sister.

Keane smirked, and managed to do so kindly. "My first impression of you, to be honest, was that you're just like my sister. Like, when you were talking to Devon in the elevator…I was secretly smiling. Amaris would've been just like that; excited and focused."

"Well, that's me. Excitable and focusable." He wanted to stop this topic before it began. "So, what are you guys going to do now?"

Keane furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You can't go home." He felt badly putting it so flippantly, but the topic had to be addressed eventually.

Keane paled, finally remembering. "I had forgotten about that…" He trailed off, voice low.

Daniel shifted. "I'm sure I could talk to the General. Maybe you could all stay here."

"That'd be ok, but there's no place like home. Especially mine."

The pair fell into silence. Keane stared at the foreign sustenance he had filled his tray with. None of it looked very appetizing. Sighing, he picked up the most innocent looking piece and bit in. It was surprisingly good, and he quickly continued with a ravenous look on his face.

Daniel simply smiled and picked his book up again, burying his nose in information about the ancient Anglo- Saxons, hopefully to uncover more about the visitors past.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

_She was running through the woods, laughing along the way. Occasionally stealing glances behind her, she was carefree and innocent. The trees whipped by her, the gusts of wind stung her cheeks, but she was not deterred. Fall was sneaking up on Aldercy, but Amaris welcomed it._

_She reached the river's side first. There was no doubt she would. After all, Harvey and Keane had not been to this spot since before they had left for the academy. Waiting there impatiently, she splashed water on her face and thought of how glad she was to have her brothers back._

"_Finally," she said with a grin when her brothers emerged from the wood. They were the mirror image of each other, but Harvey wore a softer expression._

"_Yes, finally," Harvey responded wryly. "We haven't had all the practice you have had, baby sister."_

_She frowned at being called 'baby sister' but was too pleased to stay sad for long. "You know the paths as well as I do," she shot back. "This has been our place since I was three."_

"_It hasn't changed since then," Keane added, not the least bit surprised._

"_Part of its charm," Harvey remarked._

"_Too true."_

_Amaris was overwhelmed with pleasure and suddenly started twirling. Her brothers smirked with amusement._

"_I don't know how to tell you this, Keane," Harvey said sarcastically. "But…our sister…" He trailed off dramatically._

"_..Yes?" Keane asked with mock concern._

"_I'm afraid that…in the time we've been gone, she's become…a flake." He dropped his head in defeat._

_Amaris stopped twirling and rolled her eyes. The pair stuck out their tounges._

"_Oh, that's real mature," she said of her twenty-year-old brothers. But she forgave them, and moved towards them to envelop both of them in a group hug._

_But the peaceful woodlands dissolved. Harvey's cheerful demeanor dissolved into fear and he was starting to turn into the darkness that now surrounded them. "Save me," he screamed in a manner that was quite unlike the one from this memory. Her mind had taken it somewhere new._

_Amaris leapt forward to save him, but was pushed out of the way suddenly by Keane. "He's already gone." The words lingered on his lips for a while and finally made it to Amaris's ears._

"_No! We cannot let him go, Keane! He's a part of us!" She sobbed to him, struggling against his grasp. She made it out of his arms and fell into a new scene._

_She was an observer this time. She could see herself in Keane's arms in the center of a huge chamber. _

_The Amaris in the center of the room addressed Keane. "Harvey? I knew he would kill me one last time so we could be together, my brother."_

_A single tear rolled down Amaris's face when she saw Keane's reaction._

"_No." Keane shook his head, heart heavy. "No, Amaris. You're not dead. It's Keane."_

"_Keane?" she shook her head. "You look just like Harvey. I miss Harvey. I want to visit him. You can come with us later, Keane." She smiled now. "The three of us can be together, us siblings. But you have to finish your life first."_

_Keane cried silently now. "You have your life too, Amaris. I'm not ready for you to be gone yet."_

_Amaris could feel her heart breaking. Devon stepped towards the pain in the center. "I'm not ready for you to go either."_

"_Oh, Devon!" She smiled up at her. "You're so cute…and you were very brave just now. You don't need me anymore."_

_She started crying. "But I want you here with me!"_

_Amaris made a move towards herself, Keane, and Devon. She was going to let them know that they all made it out of here. That they were going to stay together._

_The memory distorted, just like the other one. Ba'al stepped between Amaris and the trio. He turned towards Amaris. "They're going to die," he taunted. Amaris charged towards him, outraged. He stopped her with a simple snap._

"_You can't stop it." His grin was too sinister to bear, and Amaris directed her attention to Devon and Keane, who were still trying to comfort the other Amaris. Her redirection of attention didn't stop him from continuing. "I'll kill them. And then, it'll just be me and you. We'll have fun."_

_Something in his voice made her shudder. "No," she managed, holding onto her self-control._

_He leaned into her ear and whispered, "You are nothing. Nothing you will ever do can make you worth anything. I will destroy everything you care about."_

_An image of her planet appeared before them, replacing her brother, Devon, and herself. "You won't. You don't know where it is."_

_He laughed. "Says who?" She finally worked up the courage to look in his eyes. Her own were wide with horror. The expression only made him intensify his laugh. He roughly grabbed her hair and used it to fling her onto the ground. She knew what was coming next…_

Amaris sat up in bed, her breath unsteady. _Calm down,_ she thought. _It was just a dream._

Still, she was not comforted. Could Ba'al have discovered the location of her homeworld? The thought was horrific. She had suffered so much to keep it safe. How could he have found out? Maybe…

No. Any of the three of them would not give it away. Like her, Keane, Devon, and Lowell all loved Aldercy too much to be flippant with its stargate address.

_Wait…what happened to Allard?_

Amaris clutched her stomach, and leaned towards the pan left next to her bed. She gasped, trying to overcome the overwhelming feeling of doom that had settled in the pit of her stomach.

_No…he didn't. He didn't. He didn't!_

She screamed out in her mind, but it could not hinder the feeling in her gut.

_He did._

Amaris threw up.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Roland!"

The grey-haired man looked up from his feet when he heard his name called. Turning towards the source of the noise, he folded his arms and waited for the other man to catch up.

He ultimately did, and immediately Roland started walking again. "Commander Allard, what can I do for you on this fine morning?"

Allard walked with Roland, struggling a bit. "I want to know if I have your support."

It took all of Roland's self-control not to slap that rat. "My support?"

Allard let out a long sigh of exasperation. "I want to know where you stand on the matter of Amaris Gotin's team."

"I think you know where I stand," Roland replied, more quiet than usual. How dare he even think that his loyalty to Amaris and her team would so easily be dissolved?

"Well," Allard started, "I would think that after the story of their insubordination you would side with me."

Roland stopped. "You were sorely mistaken." He turned unexpectedly and started walking again; hoping Allard would take the hint and walk away.

No such luck.

"Why," he persisted.

Roland sighed. "I would have thought you'd know this by now, but I don't like you. I respect you as a worthy leader. You are brave and we owe you much. Nevertheless, I don't like you." He paused to catch his breath, and then continued in his tirade. "I recruited each of them. I gave Amaris her command. The only thing I care about is that you left all four of them behind-and I honestly don't give a damn as to what they did to you."

With that off his chest, he quickened his pace. Allard did not even bother to try keeping up to him.

"You've become too soft in your old age! I'll be damned if you keep your seat on the quorum."

Roland laughed to himself and continued on his way.

He did not originally have a destination, but ultimately he ended up at Amaris and Keane's house. He let himself in with the key they had given him.

They hadn't been gone that long. Only a week had passed since Allard had come thorough the stargate with his story. Nevertheless, Roland had already noticed the hole that had been left at the command center.

Everyone was too…stuffy. Amaris and her team had managed to be fun loving and caring of each other, and had managed to maintain professionalism about them.

To hold on to that shred of humanity, Roland came here, to their house. It smelled like them, and looking around at the pictures of the team made it seem like they were home.

However, if they were smart, they would never come home again. After all, Allard usually got his way. And he wanted them punished.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lowell entered the infirmary after being kicked out of the lab by Major Carter and Devon. Apparently, they were in the middle of an interesting simulation, and he was disturbing them.

Personally, Lowell wouldn't use the words "interesting" and "simulation" in the same sentence, but to each his own. Or her own.

Anyways, the exasperated Devon sent him to see Amaris. Maybe even take her for a walk. She was not walking yet, but Dr. Frasier had told them that they could take her on walks with the supplied wheelchair if Amaris wanted to.

As Lowell came across the threshold, the first thought that occurred to him was _she looks like hell._

It wasn't the best thing to think about someone, but there was no other thought to think. The dark bags under her eyes were even darker than they had been before. Her face was gaunt and pale, from an obvious lack of sleep. And she still insisted on reading that book Major Carter had given her.

"What's wrong," he asked in greeting. There was no beating around the bush in this crowd.

"Nothing," she denied, but the guilty look on her face did nothing to convince him she was telling the truth.

He sat in the chair next to her and sighed. "I've known you practically all your life. I know when you're lying to me."

"True," she said with a grimace.

"Go ahead, Amaris. Tell me. You'll feel better." At the skeptical look in her eyes, he added, "I promise not to tell anyone. Unless it's for your own good."

"As tempting as that sounds…"

"Amaris." He said it firmly, making his resolve clear. "Please tell me what's going on."

She shut the book, knowing he would never let her be if she didn't fill him in. "Fine. But I'm telling you this in confidence."

Lowell grinned. "Of course."

"Ok." She took a deep breath and started. "I had a dream. And now I can't sleep again."

Lowell grimaced, picturing the many gruesome possibilities she could have dreamt. "It was just a dream."

"No, its not that I'm too _scared_ to sleep again, but rather it evoked some thought, and now I can't stop thinking about it," she emphasized.

"Well, what's on your mind? I'll share the burden."

"Lowell…what happened to Allard?"

He froze. This wasn't what he expected. He thought that maybe it had to do with some physics principal. Then, he could have made her laugh while feigning ignorance. It always cheered her.

But on this topic, he had nothing comical to say.

"He didn't want us to try and save you, Amaris," he said softly. "And you know to the three of us that that's unacceptable."

Her eyes widened at his tone. "What did you do?"

"We did what had to be done, Amaris."

"You killed him," she asked indignantly, and her mouth couldn't close all the way.

"No! What kind of people do you think we are?" He wished he had killed him, but that's not what she had asked. Killing him would have avoided many issues…

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" she trailed off. "So how am I here?"

"We restrained him. And rescued you."

"You guys will be in so much trouble when we go home," she chuckled slightly.

Lowell tried to laugh, but it came out strangled. She noticed.

"What?"

"Amaris…" he tried to find a way to put it. "We…at least Devon, Keane and I, are not going home after you get better. We can't. Allard escaped and went home…if we go back to Aldercy we'll be arrested on sight. And with his power, they won't even question his story."

"So…I can't go home?" Her mind was spinning. _After all I did for my home…my reward is never going back._

Lowell grabbed her hand quickly. "Oh, no. Not at all. We aren't going to stop you from going home."

"I don't want to go without you!" she had started crying.

Dr. Frasier came in, looking at a clipboard. Without looking up, she started, "Amaris, you're doing well. You can go home…" she stopped here, after hearing a strangeled cry.

"Lowell, I can't believe you told her!" She hissed and jumped to Amaris's side. "The Tok'ra are doing whatever they can to stop Ba'al before he gets to the planet…"

"What," she cried out, even louder than her tears before.

Lowell caught Janet's eyes. "I only told her that we weren't going home, even if she was," he told her as quietly as possible.

_Shit. _Janet was furious with herself. "Oh."

"What are you talking about?" Amaris was demanding them for more information.

"Amaris…when Allard dialed Aldercy, a Jaffa saw him dial it."

Amaris's tears slowed, and her look of horror became one of nausea. She had hoped that she was wrong. "He does know...I knew it…He'll kill them all…and I'll be alone…"

She promptly fainted.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

New Character: Roland: A kind and gentle man in his late fifties. He's friends with or favorite alien team. In fact, he recruted them.

Little A/N: Amaris is not a damsel in distress type, she's just having a pretty bad week. Just to make sure you understand that.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Wilma was a bitch. Yell at her, because it's her fault you didn't have this chapter Monday, and that I haven't had power for the majority of the week. Anyway, as a few of you may recall, in the first chapter I mentioned that there would be a pairing. Well, I have decided to unveil it, and some of you may have already guessed (it was fairly obvious, if I do say so myself) it is Daniel/Amaris. If you're a shipper with Daniel and another character, I ask you please give Amaris a chance. She's nice, I promise.

Here is the next chapter in any case, with special thanks going out to my sister. And I also wish to thank all my readers, especially Agent-G  
because he always leaves the best reviews an author could ask for.

* * *

The Customary OC List

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk , Male, late forties.

Fa'mar: Jaffa in the service of Ba'al (First Prime), however, he has a hidden agenda! (dun dun dun)

Roland: A kind and gentle man in his late fifties. He's friends with or favorite alien team. In fact, he recruted them. Best little man back on Aldercy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When Amaris woke up, she wasn't fortunate enough to have forgotten why she fainted. And looking up at the faces of her team, all full of guilt, she felt like she was going to faint again.

"So, what's being done, exactly?" She asked this question softly, clinging desperately to hope. "I mean, we can stop him, right?"

Her teammates were shocked, and unable to answer her question.

"uhh…well," Keane sputtered. He had been dragged to the infirmary after she fainted.

"It's not going to be easy, but the Tok'ra are planning on sabotage."

The voice came from behind the group in front of her. They all parted to make way for the speaker, each one as curious as Amaris was.

It was Daniel.

A few days had passed since their…discussion. Since then, he had avoided the infirmary. And even as he stood there now, the look in his eyes still held some contempt.

"Do you think they'll pull it off," she asked breathlessly, almost too frightened to hear his opinion. Daniel clearly knew about the Goa'uld and what they were capable of. He wouldn't beat around the bush; at least not with her.

"Honestly, they need a miracle." He dropped his eyes to the ground, but didn't walk away.

Devon grabbed Amaris's hand and rubbed it comfortingly. "'Maris, I'm so sor…" She was silenced with a slight 'shh' from Amaris.

"I…just want to be alone, right now." She smiled a painful smile at the looks on her friends faces. "I promise I'll be alright. I simply need to think."

Keane was about to protest, but Devon stopped him with a glare. A glare that said, quite clearly, 'Don't even think about it.' _It must be a woman thing,_ he mused.

His thought was confirmed as Devon kissed Amaris's forehead and said, "_I_ understand," with quite an emphasis on the 'I.'

Lowell and Keane reluctantly left with Devon, and once out of earshot, demanded to know what she was thinking.

"The last thing Amaris needs is to be alone!" Lowell hissed, face reddening.

Keane nodded his agreement. "She needs us now. We're all she'll have."

Devon frowned at them. "You guys really are thick."

"I don't understand…"

She snorted. "Us being with her is simply a reminder that we are all she has left. She fought _so hard _for Aldercy to be safe. And now…we're here. And she can't go home. There _is_ no home."

The two men's hearts sank as they listened to her. "Devon, why is it that you're so much smarter than us?"

She smiled. "It's not that I'm smarter. I'm just more sympathetic." She enveloped the two if them in a tight embrace, and whispered in their ears, "Though, I must admit, being smarter than you helped."

With a devilish grin, she skipped off down the hall.

"She's a piece of work," Keane said, kindly, but managing a slight bit of bitterness.

Lowell grunted his agreement, and took off down the hall towards the commesary. "Wanna come," he called down to Keane.

Keane's stomach did growl. He may have been eating in the commissary, but he found that nothing in that room satisfied him. None of it was good.

"I guess I'll come. I don't really like anything in there, though."

Lowell gasped. "You don't like pie?"

Keane shot him a confused look. "What?"

"Ohhh," he sighed as he remembered. "You didn't come with us. Colonel O'Neill showed us the finer points of the commissary while you were being checked out. Come on, you'll love it."

Keane followed him, but asked, "What's 'pie?'"

Lowell grinned. "Pie," he said, quoting a noble colonel, "is wonderful."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

She knew she wasn't alone, even if she had been staring at her hands the entire time.

Ten minutes had passed, and Daniel Jackson was still standing at her bedside. It was irksome, not because he was _there_ so much as he clearly wanted to say something, but was not saying it.

_I can't take it any more._

"Do you want something, Dr. Jackson?" Amaris finally brought her eyes up to his. Her tone remained formal, but far from unkind.

"Not really."

She snorted and went back to the study of her hands.

"…It's hard to lose things to the Goa'uld," she said finally, just to fill the silence. "It's like…they took my innocence, my happiness, my home. What's left?"

He tensed next to her, and she again looked up from her hands.

"Before, I forgot that I still have me." She took a deep breath and she knew that this would turn into so much more than a silence-filler.

"I still have me." She repeated, and her voice cracked a little. "That's enough to be thankful for, I imagine. And I may complain that being alive and free is more torture than Ba'al could have ever put me through. But there is not a doubt in my mind that that's just me being stupid and selfish."

Daniel's face softened and he drew a little closer to the bed.

"Janet and Sam told me."

He was now sitting in the chair next to her. "Oh," he managed softly, knowing without a doubt what she was speaking of.

"I'm a moron." He would have smiled at her comment had she not been in tears.

"No. You just didn't know any better." Daniel was too kind to let someone beat himself or herself up like Amaris was.

"I should have, though. I couldn't see what was important. And I hurt you in the process." He didn't have anything to say to that, so she continued. "I can understand if you never want to see me or talk to me again, but know that I'm really sorry. Truly. And I would love to be friends."

Looking at her tear-ridden face and genuine remorse, Daniel hugged her warmly. "Me too."

Amaris sobbed into his shoulder. He could tell she was trying to calm herself, and not appear melodramatic. Her attempt was cute, in his opinion, but unhealthy.

"I know I yelled at you before for being ungrateful, but that doesn't mean you can't cry," he told her kindly, stroking her hair.

Her subdued sobs turned into full out crying, and she lifted her head off his shoulder. "I don't want to get you all wet," she said through her tears and wiped her face. It had no lasting effect.

Watching her broke Daniel's heart.

"I'm volunteering to get wet," he said simply, and embraced her again. As her shoulders heaved with each snivel, he could not help but think how natural this whole encounter had felt.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Fa'mar moved quickly and fluidly down the halls. They were almost at their destination.

"Kree, Shel ma'heel, tal'mak," he called to the Jaffa guarding doors along the path, and they followed him without question. Fa'mar had prepared them for this moment for a long, long time.

"My _lord_." Fa'mar said his normal greeting as he entered the hall, but he spoke with a sneer. One Ba'al could not ignore.

"Is that impudence I hear, Fa'mar? Dare you defy your God?" He simply raised an eyebrow, as normally he could evoke fear with a twitch of his face and venom in his voice. But he didn't realize that 'normally' would not apply tonight.

"Dare you defy yours?"

Ba'al's face turned confused, then terrified, as he knew what was happening. Fa'mar was speaking with a voice that was deeply distorted. Ba'al had been tricked, by a lowly, dirty, Tok'ra. His only hope was to cling to the idea that some of his Jaffa had remained loyal.

"It seems I have been tricked," he said congenially. "But Tok'ra know this; your end will come."

Fa'mar snorted. "I'm not Tok'ra, you daft fool. I am your son." His eyes flashed and he spit, letting Ba'al know he could be just as hateful as his father could.

Ba'al's eyes narrowed. "I do not have a son." Which was true. After the sybiotes of his Jaffa matured, he killed them. There was no need for the competition. He already had lesser Goa'uld's serving him.

"Missed one, daddy," Fa'mar cut into his thoughts, voice full of distain. "I'm here."

Ba'al refused to believe that. "You are a Tok'ra, fool, and you will not succeed, for my Jaffa are loyal." The pride in his voice was unmistakable, but his pride was misplaced.

"I have been planning this for a _long _time. They are loyal to _me_. _I _am their god."

The emphasis in Fa'mar's statements hit home for Ba'al. Could it be that his entire fleet had been turned against him? Was there no one loyal to him?

Even if there was one Jaffa, chances were he was too cowardly to step up and defend him. From the looks of the battalion in front of him, Ba'al knew that the mutiny went far beyond a handful of Jaffa.

"What will you do, Fa'mar? What are your plans? There is no chance of you ever being the god I was to my followers. Cruel, terrible, and great. I controlled them. You will _never_ live up to my abilities." It was a desperate shot, but anything to make Fa'mar keep him alive was all right with Ba'al. He may have been arrogant, but like all Goa'uld, he believed in self-preservation.

Fa'mar laughed at Ba'al's pathetic attempt to distract him. "That will not work. I have been by your side as first prime for many years. I know your strategies, I know your cruelties, and I know your malice. I can match it. And they will follow me without a question, for I am the god who came and rid them of the false god who enslaved them for centuries." Fa'mar's eyes were shining, and he stepped up to Ba'al.

"Don't you wish you hadn't been so weak? Your abilities at torture are so limited, a _woman_ could handle it. She wasn't even a Tau'ri, she was a lesser human, one only fit to be a slave to the Goa'uld." He grabbed Ba'al and held a weapon to his head. It was small, and it fit on his fingers like a ring. Ba'al recognized it immediately as a System-Lord issued weapon.

"How did you get that," he asked his son, hesitant to know the answer but still firmly demanding.

His evil smile spread even wider. "The System Lords are not pleased with your many shortcomings. They are welcoming the rise of Fa'mar." Fa'mar's eyes had a faraway look in them, and he continued. "I will be as great as you in much less time than it took you. And my reign will continue forever."

_As much as I hate to admit this… I am frightened._

_--Now you know what it feels like._

Fa'mar was still talking, but Ba'al was no longer listening. He kept a horrified expression on his face, however, it was because for the first time in a thousand years, his host was addressing him, without even a trace of fear. How was he ever going to get out of this if his host kept distracting him?

This could be a problem.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Allard walked with a scowl in his very step, scaring everyone around him.

He'd been irritable ever since coming home, and he'd even used his intimidation techniques to get what he wanted out of everyone at the command center. They had all agreed that Amaris's team was out of control, and if they ever returned home, (which was doubtful) they would no longer serve under that command. Their labs and offices had already been cleaned out.

Roland dragged his feet the whole way, and that stubborn old man was the source of all Allard's frustrations. If it wasn't for Roland, Allard would have re-tasked all of the off-world teams for research, cutting back dramatically on all gate travel. He'd had a pretty bad experience, and wanted to put an end to it.

Allard's feelings ended up being his downfall. He shakes with anger at the recollection of Roland twisting his own words around, until they were weapons against him.

_But no more,_ Allard though maliciously, gripping a file tightly. _I have this now. And I'll never answer to Roland again._

He threw the door open, without the usual restraint that comes from opening your superior officer's office door.

With the noise at the door, two heads in the office flew up. One was Roland's, and Allard, with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, noticed how worried the older man looked. The other head was that of Chairman Gordon Sutton, who looked grim.

"Evening," Allard happily addressed the pair. He stroked the folder, but only Roland noticed and shot him a disgusted look. Allard ignored it, and stepped towards the men.

"I have something that may interest you, Chairman Sutton." He set the folder down on the desk and slid it over to the Chairman.

"What is this," the Chairman questioned, opening it somewhat hesitantly.

"This," said Allard triumphantly, "Is proof that your officers are too close to one another, and their _better judgment _has become impaired." Allard directed the words 'better judgment' to Roland.

"Oh?" The Chairman flipped though the pages. The sheets were filled with pictures of teams out to dinner with one another, teams drinking together, parties, and the like. One particular picture Sutton paused at was one of Roland with Amaris's team. They were toasting, and it seemed like not too long ago. Sutton held it up for Roland to see, questions in his eyes.

"That was the night after they returned from their first mission," Roland explained, raw memory on his tongue. Pain was evident in his voice; it was clear that reliving this memory was painful due to the fact that the team involved was where God only knows.

"I see." The Chairman let that topic drop and instead continued on his quick study of the pictures and shut the file, a rush of cold air escaping from the folder.

"It's clear that any decisions made in the field would be based on feelings rather than practicality." Allard drove his point home, and he could tell that Chairman Sutton was at the point where a very slight suggestion would guide him. "I find this a danger to their own safety."

Sutton nodded, hesitantly but with growing confidence. "That's true." Allard smiled at the horror on Roland's face.

"We just need to makes some reassignments. I can make some suggestions." _This just gets better and better…_

"Sure. Come see me tomorrow with a plan, and we'll go over it."

Roland started to interrupt, but Allard made sure he couldn't. "I sure will. See you then." Allard left, as smug as ever could be.

The Chairman settled into his chair again and popped open a book. Roland was still sitting on the couch, stunned at how quickly changes could occur.

"Chairman Sutton, I think this is a mistake," he said honestly.

He sighed and closed his book. "I wish I could agree with you, old friend, but we live in a changing world; far harsher, without feeling, and technological. We do not have room for feelings, only rules. As much as we may hate these changes, they are necessary." He paused, and saw Roland's crushed expression.

"I really am sorry," he repeated, unsure of how to assuage this man's worry.

"Yeah." Roland stood and walked out, angry. He should have more say in this command. He had the knowledge, the experience, and most of all, the understanding that every CO should have.

Roland was unaware that his day would come; but before it did, changes had to happen.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jack O'Neill had been wandering round the base, looking for an excuse to not do work.

The arrival of the Aldercians had delayed SG-1's return to off-world missions, but no longer. The General had sent over a few pre-mission briefing folders, with a note telling Jack that he needed to pick one before the end of the day.

The Colonel had thought that he was ready to go back to work. He was out of sync with his routine and a mission seemed like the best way to re-adjust.

But upon reflection, Jack knew he wouldn't be "back to normal" until he spoke to Amaris.

Seeing Ba'al again affected Jack more than he would've liked to admit. It brought up old memories; ones that he had tried to forget. No such luck.

_I guess knowing she has been though what I have makes it worse._ He thought, letting his feet take him wherever they pleased.

_She understands everything I've been through. I'm not exactly used to that happening._

O'Neill suddenly stopped, and scolded his feet mentally. He was standing outside of the infirmary. Turning on heel, Jack thought about the files on his desk. _I should take a look at them._

Working was acceptable, because the thought of talking to her about Ba'al was not. Anything to avoid the conversation.

When Jack was back in his office, his mind wandered back to the infirmary. He was now man enough to admit that he was thinking about talking to Amaris. And maybe on some subconscious level, he wanted to.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"And now, I can finally let you see who I am."

_--It's clear to me that this 'Fa'mar' is your son. You both have a tendency to give boring, long-winded speeches._

Ba'al was too stunned to give rebuttal. Not only was his self-proclaimed 'son' about to kill him, his host was no longer too afraid to speak out.

_If he kills me, you die too. _He figured that reasoning with his host was the best way out of this. Maybe they could think of a plan.

_--I welcome it. I've been stuck in this universe for too long, and I've seen too many horrors. _

Ba'al bit his lip and instead of focusing on the voice within him, he listened to his son. A narcissistic Goa'uld he could handle, but not a human with… _feelings_.

"My son, there is much you do not know about my domain," Ba'al said with a smirk. "There are secrets I share with no one, not you, and defiantly not the system lords."

_--You can't hide them from me. You're bluffing._

Ba'al ignored the inner voice and smothered a smirk. Fa'mar was reacting as expected.

"You lie."

"I do not," Ba'al responded. "I know many things. So you can kill me, Fa'mar, but my knowledge will die with me."

Fa'mar seemed to be contemplating this, then he shook his head. "You cannot possibly think me that gullible."

Ba'al shrugged. "Why not?"

Fa'mar seemed confused, and tried to hide it quite unsuccessfully. "I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself," he said, this time making sure to add the smirk. It did the trick. Ba'al was the master at manipulation.

"Jaffa!" Fa'mar called. "Take my father to a holding cell, and keep him under heavy guard." They quickly complied, and before they lead Ba'al away, Fa'mar spoke to him. "I will interrogate you later, and not hesitate to use any tactic necessary."

Fa'mar was attempting to instill fear, but Ba'al refused to be shaken, at least visibly.

_For now, I am alive_, thought the former system lord as he was pushed down the halls. _But there are issues I still have to worry about._

_--Like me?_

Ba'al grimaced as the Jaffa poked him especially hard, and addressed his host with distain.

_Yes, issues like you._

………………………………………………………………………………………………


End file.
